Final Piece of my Heart
by perfect oblivion
Summary: After five years of training, Ash is back as an elite four member. When Bianca comes to him and tells him Latias is unstable, he must decide whether to take a chance and love a pokemon, or shatter Latias' breaking heart. Altoshipping
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Far off in Kanto, at the Indigo Plateau, a massive battle was about to take place. Hundreds of fans and spectators were screaming and cheering in the stands.  
>"And here he is folks, the challenger, who has triumphed over three of the Elite Four, is about to face the final member, will he prevail or will he fall. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Gary Oak."<p>

Gary sighed as he stepped into the sun-filled stadium, one hand shaking slightly in eager anticipation. One more battle 'till he faced the champion, just one more. The previous fights had been intense, he had barely beaten Agatha yesterday, but the old woman's words at the end of the battle still haunted his mind. She had somberly gazed at him and said,

"be careful trainer, for your next match is against the final and most powerful of the Elite Four. And although he is young and received the position a mere week ago, be warned for none of the other members, not even myself, have come even close to beating him. Even the champion can barely hold his own against the final member." Gary was starting to wonder just who this guy was, when the announcer's voice blared over the speakers once again.

"And here he comes folks, the final member of the Elite Four." The area on which Gary's opponent would stand split apart and slid away, revealing a tunnel, the sounds of a rising lift echoing through it.

"Now folks", the announcer spoke up, "a bit of info on the final member. He happens to be the youngest person to join the Elite Four worldwide. The previous record holder being Aaron of Sinnoh, who joined at age 19. The final member is a user of Electric type pokemon and was just initiated only last week." Gary was still trying to figure out who the final member was, when he heard a bang and clicking sound. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Gary looked up and saw that the lift shaft had just closed over, the final member stepping back on his area. Gary immediately started sizing him up. His opponent had black eyes that looked strangely familiar, raven black hair that poked out around his hat as if trying to get get free, and looked to be about 18 years old. He was wearing an outfit that Gary recognized as one worn by those Lucario users in Sinnoh that called themselves guardians of aura, except there were a few differences in the design. The biggest one being a bunch of yellow orbs embedded in the suit; one in the chest, one on the back of each gloved hand, one on the front of his hat, one on each shoulder, and one just above each kneecap. Yellow lines radiated from each orb, all around the suit until they connected to each other. The hat also had lines wrapping around it. Gary had to admit this guy looked really , really familiar, but he just couldn't place him. It was like a key piece of the picture was missing, preventing him from figuring out who this guy was. That was when Gary noticed a yellow pokemon run up the trainer's leg, past his arm, and come to a rest on his shoulder. It was a Pikachu, and upon seeing that pokemon, everything clicked into place.

Far away, in the quiet, quaint city of Altomare, an old man with a small white beard, and balding hair was watching television in his home. He was flipping through the channels looking for something good on when he came to the pokemon league channel.

"And here he is folks," the announcer's voice blared, "the final member of the Elite Four, Ash Ketchum." There was a clattering sound as the remote hit the floor. Lorenzo just stared, too speechless to move. Ash Ketchum, an Elite Four member?

"Bianca, get over here,you have to come and see this," Lorenzo hollered out. A loud frustrated grunt was heard from upstairs, then Bianca shouted,

"Grandpa, I'm getting ready to paint here, can't it wait!"

"Not this time Bianca."

"All right, all right I'm coming." Bianca then came downstairs and sat beside her grandfather on the couch, still holding her empty pallet.

"This had better be good," she sighed and looked at the screen, then the announcer's voice was heard.

"All right folks this is it, the final battle is here with the challenger Gary Oak, vs Elite Four member four, Ash Ketchum." There was a clattering sound as Bianca's pallet hit the floor, landing beside the remote. Lorenzo was about to say something, but then heard the front door slam shut. Lorenzo went over and looked out the front window and couldn't help but chuckle. Bianca was blazing down the street at a speed that would make Suicune green with envy.

"All right then," said the announcer, "the trainers will have a ten minute intermission to formulate their strategies, as for the rest of us, a word from our sponsors." Lorenzo checked the clock and saw that it was a little past noon. He then headed to the kitchen to make some lunch.

Bianca ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the secret garden. She had to tell Latias the news about Ash. Quickly making her way through the maze like streets of Altomare, she turned a corner and into a dead end, only to pass straight through the wall and into the secret garden. Stopping for a bit to catch her breath, Bianca surveyed her surroundings. Everything was where it should be, the flowers, the swing, the soul dew. She walked down towards the central pool of the garden and looked around for Latias.

"Latias, Latias," Bianca called, "Latias, where are you?" Immediately some bushes began rustling and out came Latias rubbing her eyes, which were puffy from a recent bout of crying. Bianca turned to see her dragon friend, but upon seeing Latias her mood darkened a bit.

"Thinking about Latios again?" Bianca asked sadly Latias wiped her eyes a bit then nodded. Bianca then looked around the bushes where Latias showed up. Finding nothing but a small puddle of tears, she then asked, "Have you been trying anything funny?"

'N-no' Latias replied telepathically, her words stuttering out by the sorrow flooding her mind, 'I ha-ha-haven't.'

"Just making sure."

Bianca sighed. Ever since Latios died, Latias had become a wreck. She no longer laughed, she no longer smiled, and she began to do things that made Bianca and Lorenzo fear for her safety. One year after Latios died, Latias had raided Lorenzo's alcohol storeroom, and began drowning her sorrows in a bottle. This continued for seven months until Lorenzo caught her red handed (pun not intended ). After three weeks she had managed to quit. Then she had tried cutting herself, but was caught by Bianca before she could make an incision. Then, after six years of bottling up her emotions, Latias could no longer take it and attempted to commit suicide. The first attempt she made was by strangling herself using the swing , but Bianca made a surprise visit and managed to stop her. Immediately after she was free, Latias told her that she had been flying around the garden, but wasn't paying attention and got caught in the swing. Bianca had believed her. Then just a month ago, she got a hold of some pesticide and tried to poison herself. If Bianca and Lorenzo hadn't swung by for a picnic when they did, it would have been too late. After that, Latias stopped trying, only because she was under constant watch from security cameras in the garden. Bianca had also placed a special device on Latias that kept her inside the garden at all times as long as it was on her. If she did try to leave the device would send a signal to the various posts surrounding the exits and in turn the nearest one would deconstruct her, much like a pokeball would, and send her back into the garden. Surprisingly however, Bianca was removing the device from her arm.

'What are you d-doing?'

"I want you to come to my place. There's something I really have to show you, but we've got to hurry."

Latias was confused . Normally she wasn't allowed out of the garden by any means, so why was she being let out now? Bianca led Latias to the exit of the garden, but then turned around to face her.

"Latias, I need you to turn human". Latias complied, a soft blue glow enveloping her as she changed into her human form. Bianca smiled and took her hand.

"Okay let's go, but we got to hurry."

Lorenzo had just finished setting everything up when he heard the door opened, then closed.

"Okay grandpa, I brought her."

"Did she make a fuss or try to run off?"

"Nope, she did exactly as I told her to."

"Good to hear, now hurry up you two, it's starting". Bianca rushed into the room, Latias, who had resumed her true form, nervously followed. When she saw all the snacks on the table, she was really confused.

'What's going on?', she asked nervously, 'what's with all the snacks?' Lorenzo just smiled.

"You'll see", he said, and motioned her to get comfortable by the couch.. She was just getting settled when the image on the screen changed, and her heart nearly stopped, for even though the clothes were radically different, that face was the exact same face that had haunted her dreams since that horrible night seven years ago.

"Latias, do you want anything?", asked Lorenzo.

'I'll take a sandwich', said Latias with a smile not seen in seven years.

**Well, what do you think?**

**Love it, like it, hate it?**

**Constructive criticism is much appreciated, but I just know I'm gonna get flamed to hell and back for Latias' behaviour.**

**Next chapter, Ash vs Gary, The lord of lightning**


	2. Chapter 2

**Special thanks to Dashboard Dusk for pointing out the mistakes in my previous chapter. Your criticism was much appreciated.**

"Hi": speech

"**Hi"**: electric speech

'Hi': telepathy

'_Hi_': normal thoughts

**Chapter 2**

**(play pokeremixstudio's R/S/E elite four remix while reading this chapter)**

"Trainers," the referee shouted, "take your positions." Ash and Gary then took their designated positions on the field. The ref then started explaining the rules.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with no time limit. In addition, both sides may freely substitute, Elite Four member Ash will make the first selection of Pokemon, do you both understand?" Both Ash and Gary nodded, and the ref waved both his flags in the air.

"Let the battle begin."

"Luxray, lets go," Ash shouted out as he threw a pokeball, and in a flash of white light, a Luxray appeared .

"And Ash is kicking things off with his Luxray" the announcers voice blared throughout the stadium.

"Nidoking, I choose you" Gary hollered as the Nidoking emerged from his ball.

"And Gary plays it smart with a Nidoking," the announcer shouted, "how will this turn out folks?"

"Nidoking, earthquake" Gary commanded, and Nidoking brought his foot up and slammed it down hard, creating a shock wave that rent and cracked the ground underneath it as it traveled towards Luxray. Ash said nothing, instead he extended his hand, and a bolt of electricity shot from his palm, striking Luxray. Immediately, Luxray charged at Nidoking while charging an iron tail attack. Just before the earthquake hit, Luxray slammed his tail into the ground and used it to springboard over the attack, then he flipped in mid-air and using the additional force provided, slammed the iron tail attack down on Nidoking's head. The drill Pokemon roared in pain, and clutched his head in attempt to lessen the pain.

Gary couldn't believe his eyes. Ash had just electrocuted his own Pokemon, and it responded with a precise evasion and counterattack to Nidoking.

'_What did Ash just do_?'

"Wait a minute folks," shouted the announcer, "I have information from the Champion regarding Ash's recent action." Everyone was listening intently to the announcer, all wondering just what Ash had done.

"Apparently, Ash's suit allows him to communicate with any electric type Pokemon and vice versa, via electrical discharges, meaning the electrocution from before was actually Ash commanding his Luxray." Gasps and oohs could be heard in the stands as the announcer delivered his message.

Gary paled, things just got bad real fast. If Gary couldn't hear Ash's commands, then he couldn't counter them. Not only that, but Gary had no idea how or where Luxray would strike next. The sound of crackling electricity yanked Gary out of his musings. He looked up and saw that Luxray was coming in for another attack, but then he noticed the Luxray shift its weight to its back legs.

"Nidoking, its going to jump, block it." Nidoking's arms immediately went to his face. Luxray, seeing that his master's order wouldn't work, changed tactics. Instead of jumping like Ash told him to, he used his position to sprint forward, spin, and slam another iron tail right into Nidoking's gut. Naturally this made Nidoking double over, exposing his neck. Luxray seized the opportunity and lunged, catching Nidoking's neck with a crunch attack. The initial iron tail attack and the critical crunch attack were too much for the drill Pokemon to take and he collapsed, his eyes turned to swirls.

"Nidoking is unable to battle" said the referee while raising the red flag, "the victor is Ash's Luxray." Gary swore under his breath, he hadn't seen that coming. Recalling Nidoking back into his pokeball, Gary chose his next Pokemon.

"Tyranitar, I choose you," Gary shouted, and threw a pokeball that ball burst open and in a flash of light, a very big, and very angry Tyranitar appeared. Immediately, the Armour Pokemon let loose a mighty roar, and massive amounts of sand erupted from the holes in its armour, creating a massive sandstorm that obscured all vision.

'_Perfect, with a sandstorm this powerful Tyranitar is all but invisible. As long as he stays in the center of the sandstorm that Luxray won't win.'_ thought Gary.

"well folks, Gary has sent out the heavy artillery with a Tyranitar, and this sandstorm will not bode well for Ash." Luxray cringed, he was in a pickle. Not only would the sandstorm constantly damage him, but it would also render visibility to near zero. He was on the verge of a panic attack, when a familiar tingle raced up his spine.

"**Luxray," **said Ash, his voice resonating in Luxray's head.

"**Yes Ash**?"

"**Don't panic, I need you to take down that Tyranitar and end the sandstorm, but I cannot guide you."**

"**What, why not?"**

"**This sandstorm will destroy any electric message I try to send, its howling winds will drown out my voice. Once you enter, I will be cut off from you."**

"**But the sandstorm will blind me as soon as I enter, how will I be able to see, let alone fight?"**

"**Why not use your X-ray vision with your eyes closed. You can see through walls, so surely your own eyelids are no exception."**

Luxray hadn't thought of that, so he tested the theory, and to his surprise it worked.

"**You're right Ash, it works."**

"**when have I ever led you astray? Now go get that Tyranitar, I have complete faith in you."**

Luxray grinned, and dashed into the sandstorm. With his special vision active, it was a simple matter to see through the sandstorm, and with his eyes closed, he had no worries of the sand getting into his eyes. Spotting his target, Luxray charged towards the Tyranitar and lashed out with an iron tail attack. The Tyranitar was unprepared for such an aggressive response and was struck hard by the attack, but this only served to make the armour Pokemon furious. Roaring in defiance, Tyranitar attacked back with his own iron tail, which Luxray barely dodged. Seeing the crater the iron tail made, Luxray's grin got even wider, his more feral and battle hungry persona emerging.

Taking the initiative, Luxray unleashed a massive discharge attack and slammed it into Tyranitar. The armour Pokemon was about to retaliate, when he got a good look at his opponent. Every hair on Luxray was charged with electricity, making it stand on end. His mane was bigger and even wilder than before. The Luxray's eyes were open, and Tyranitar wished they weren't, for they were filled with a manic lust for battle and pain. The golden glow they were emitting made them look even more freaky. But what really scared Tyranitar was the grin Luxray was sporting. It wasn't a confident or cocky grin, it was a grin that said 'hit me and I'll hit you back twice as hard'. The whole look made Luxray look like a demon straight out of the Distortion world. Luxray took in his opponent's fearful expression, a deep dark chuckle rumbled out of his throat.

Springing forward, he charged up another iron tail attack. Tyranitar snapped out of his fear induced daze and managed to dodge the iron tail. Regaining some fighting spirit, he launched a fire punch and struck the battle crazy Luxray in the side, but with less force than he'd usually use. The attack sent Luxray skidding back, his left side smoking slightly. This just made Luxray start laughing and attack more viciously, Charging up another iron tail and enhancing it with discharge, Luxray slammed the attack into Tyranitar's side, and was struck by another fire punch in retaliation. Eyes glowing, Tyranitar slammed his foot down and a large block of stone shot from the ground. Smashing the stone block with a fire punch, Tyranitar unleashed a powerful stone edge lit ablaze. The combined attack scored a direct hit on Luxray. Not to be outdone, Luxray dashed at Tyranitar, volatile red energy spiraling around him, and then poured all his remaining electricity into the giga impact. Seeing the final attack, Tyranitar charged up a superpower attack and directed it into his arm, infused it with fire punch, and smashed it into the Luxray's incoming attack in one mighty punch. The resulting collision created a massive explosion of fire and lightning, completely obliterating the sandstorm surrounding the two Pokemon When the dust cleared both Pokemon were completely out cold, both sustaining heavy injuries.

"Both Pokemon are unable to continue," the ref stated, crossing both flags together. Recalling their downed Pokemon, both trainers brought their next choices out.

"Arcanine, I choose you!"

"Electivire, lets go!"

Latias watched the battle unfurl in awe. Never before had she seen Ash battle with such power. She had watched all his tournament battles on the TV after he left Altomare. From the Silver Conference to the Sinnoh Cup, she had watched them all, but never had she seen this kind of power from Ash. She marveled at the abilities his suit gave him, cheered when his Luxray effortlessly took down the Nidoking, and gasped when the Tyranitar was brought out. When the sandstorm was unleashed, Latias focused psychic power into her eyes, enabling her to see the two Pokemon's individual auras. By doing so she was able to convey what was going on in the raging sands.

To say Bianca and Lorenzo were shocked was an understatement, they were absolutely floored by the power those two Pokemon possessed. After the two combatants knocked each other out and the next Pokemon were called out, things got even more amazing. Ash's Electivire completely out sped and overpowered Gary's Arcanine, defeating it with a single thunder-punch, although Ash had to voice his commands seeing as his electrical commands would trigger Electivire's motor drive ability. Gary's next Pokemon,a flygon, also went down to Electivire, who used its superior speed to its advantage and struck the desert dragon in vulnerable areas with ice punches. Then Gary brought out a Metagross, and although Electivire was faster, Metagross was able to predict and counterattack Electivire easily.

Electivire was finally brought down when Gary ordered Metagross to use explosion, knocking out both Pokemon. Now Gary was left with one Pokemon while Ash still had four. Grabbing another sandwich, Latias watched the final part of the battle, eager to see more of Ash's power.

"Here it is folks," the announcer shouted, "after knocking out three of the challenger's Pokemon, Electivire has fallen. Now all the challenger's hopes ride on his last Pokemon, will it prevail?"

"Umbreon, I choose you." Throwing the pokeball into the torn up arena, it burst open and an Umbreon materialized from the light.

"Pikachu, let's go," said Ash, and his Pikachu leaped off his shoulder and ran into the arena.

"Umbreon, use double team," Gary commanded, and clones of Umbreon materialized around Pikachu in a ring, confusing Pikachu greatly. Ash knew that simply attacking a random Umbreon was pointless, so did something else, he observed. He then noticed that most of them were not detailed and their forms blurry, only one having the 'right' look, as he would put it.

"Pikachu, the real one is directly behind you, thunderbolt." Pikachu complied, firing a bolt of yellow electricity at the designated Umbreon.

'_What an idiot, like that'll eve-'_ Gary's current train of thought was kicked out the door when the attack scored a direct hit.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT!" Gary exclaimed.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt."

"Gah! Umbreon, dodge it."

Umbreon leapt to the right, easily avoiding the electric attack, until it turned right as well and slammed into her at full force. Now Gary was getting desperate, and ordered Umbreon to use payback, while Ash had Pikachu use volt tackle. The two attacks collided and exploded outwards. Heavy winds ripped through the stadium, everyone in the stands shielding their faces and bracing themselves. As things settled down, a thick cloud of dust obscured the entire battlefield from view. All was silent, the tension in the air was palpable, as the audience waited to see the outcome. Soon enough, a light breeze picked up and blew away the dust cloud, revealing Pikachu standing in front of an unconscious Umbreon.

"Umbreon is unable to battle, the winner of this battle is elite four member Ash Ketchum," said the ref, pointing the red flag a Ash. Gary was dumbfounded. Never had he expected Ash to be so powerful. Sure he knew Ash was in the elite four, but some of the things he had done during the match was still making Gary's head spin. Sighing, he recalled Umbreon and went to go find Ash, who had gone back down the lift he entered from.

_'he has a lot to answer for,' _thought Gary.

'Yay! He won, he won!' Latias was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement, and Bianca could hardly blame her. She had finally finally seen Ash again in five years, even if it was on the TV. Bianca smiled when she saw how happy Latias was. She was always happy when seeing Ash fight. Then Bianca's smile faded when she remembered what she needed to do.

"Alright Latias, time to go back to the garden." Upon hearing this Latias screeched to a halt.

'Wha-what?'

"I'm sorry Latias, but it's for your own good, I don't want to do it, but I have to." With that, Latias sighed and relented, turning human once again she followed Bianca back to the garden.

(A/N) **And thats a wrap people. HOLY #$% I'VE CREATED THE ICHIGO KUROSAKI OF POKEMON. Anyways, I would strongly suggest using the music I recommended as BGM for the fight, and remember to review, and spread the word that a new Altoshipping fic is out. I only got two reviews last chapter. Come on people. Remember to click the button below this message on your way out. CLICK IT!**


	3. Chapter 3 part 1

**Once again, Special thanks goes out to dashboard dusk for his very helpful criticism. And now, on with the story.**

**Chapter 3**

Ash closed the door to his personal room and sighed in relief. He had been bombarded by questions from news interviewers and journalists left and right. Now he was finally alone, his pokemon were being patched up by Nurse Joy, and he was finally able to relax. Settling himself down on an armchair, he closed his eyes and sighed in comfort. His peace and quiet was disturbed when he heard knocking at the door. Groaning in frustration, Ash headed for the door.

_'I swear, if it's another journalist I'm going to thunderbolt him all the way to Sinnoh and back.'_ When he opened the door however, he came face to face with Gary.

"What are you doing here, Gary?'

"I want to know where the hell you've been for the past five years. You just disappeared, with only the occasional pokemon transfer and letter back home as evidence that you were still alive."

"All right, come in. I'll explain when we're comfortable, this could take awhile." Ash then led Gary to the living room and they both got comfortable.

"All right Gary, to answer your question I was training for the International Pokemon League Master's Tournament." Gary was surprised to hear this. The master's tournament was the pinnacle of strength for trainers. Only the fiercest and most powerful trainers ever got in.

"Okay, I can see why you needed to train, but isn't five years a little much?"

"In my opinion Gary, it wasn't enough."

Okay, so what made you want to challenge the master's tournament?" At this, Ash got a nostalgic look on his face.

"Did you watch my matches in The Sinnoh Conference?" Gary shook his head.

"I only got to the semifinals. My opponent was Tobias." At this Gary's eyes widened. Tobias was the current reigning Sinnoh champion, and some say, the most powerful champion in the world.

"He completely crushed me, but I'm one of the very few that can claim to have defeated his Darkrai."

"Hold on, if you beat his Darkrai, then taking him down should have been a lot easier."

"True, but I am the only trainer ever to have fought and defeat his second legendary, a Latios." Now Gary's jaw hit the floor. Tobias had two legendary pokemon?

"It took my entire team to beat those two legendaries, but in the end, Tobias still had four pokemon left, and I was out."

"So what's this got to do with the master's tournament?"

"Everything, Gary. I realized that every time I fought a legendary, there would always be two outcomes; defeat, or a victory so narrow that if my pokemon didn't collapse after the legendary did, it would have been a defeat. And that was always against one, Gary. Tobias had two. After that battle, I realized that I had to take every pokemon I had, and strengthen it to the point where a single one could give a legendary the hardest fight of its life. So I trained, Gary. For five years I traveled the world and trained all my pokemon to their highest potential. I trained them in everything I could think of; aerial combat, close quarters combat, attack precision, you name it I trained them in it."

"You couldn't have trained them in everything by yourself."

"Precisely, which is why I got help and advice from some of the greatest trainers I knew. Hell, I trained with some of the Hoenn and Sinnoh elite four."

"Well what stopped you from taking on the master's tournament."

"Well, after I felt my pokemon learned all they could, and had become as strong as they were able to, I went to enter the tournament. However, it turns out that I needed three major achievements to enter, and I only have two. They are the Orange Islands championship trophy, and the Kanto Battle Frontier completion plaque."

"Ah, so that's why. What did you do then?"

"I headed to Sinnoh to challenge their Battle Frontier, but on the way I met up with Lance."

"What did he want?"

"Well, we talked for a bit and caught up, seeing as we hadn't seen each other since my training with Drake. Then he asked me if I could do him a favor, but he needed to battle me to see if I was capable enough. I agreed and we went at it. I used everything I had learned in my travels and trained my pokemon in, but Lance wasn't the current Kanto champion for nothing. Eventually the battle ended in a draw, and Lance said I might be overqualified for what he wanted of me."

"So what did he want with you?"

"Apparently, Bruno retired from his position in the elite four, saying something about 'finding his purpose', so Lance needed a new member, and he gave me the position. Naturally, I accepted."

"So how did you get the position of fourth member so quickly?"

"Well when I was initiated last week, Lance immediately nominated me as fourth member. Naturally, Lorelei, Koga, and Agatha weren't too pleased about this. They held their positions for years, and then I come into the picture and am immediately given the rank just below the champion. So they challenged me for the position."

"And from what Agatha told me yesterday, they didn't even come close." Chuckling a bit, Ash shook his head.

"You don't know the half of it, Gary. They didn't even come close to knocking out a single one of my pokemon. After their fights with me, they all knew why I was given the position."

"They didn't knock out a single one of your pokemon!" Gary exclaimed. Then a thought struck him.

"Ash, answer me truthfully here. Were you holding back in your fight against Lance." Ash shook his head no.

"I fought him with all my power, Gary. What I failed to mention was that part of the agreement during that fight was that I was limited to a single type of pokemon. Since it wouldn't be fair to Pikachu if I didn't use him, I chose electric types, and as you know, dragon resists electric. If I had fought him with variety, Lance would have been brought to his knees."

"So why the heck haven't you challenged the champion for his position yet?"

"Because I'm satisfied with where I am right now. Lance knows I'm stronger than him, but I've always wanted to be an elite four member. Being the champion would just bring unwanted attention." Gary was amazed at the power his old time rival now possessed.

"Well that clears a lot of things up, but I still have a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Go right ahead Gary."

"For starters, where did you get the suit?"

"Well you see, when I trained with Steven, I worked for him at Devon corp. as a field tester. While I was working there, a group of engineers and scientists were trying to figure out a way to understand what pokemon were saying. I told them how the Shinx family of pokemon use electrical discharges to communicate with each other. They told me that while the idea was a very good one, it would only work for electric type pokemon. Two months after that, I was finished training with Steven, and he had told me that his engineers had gone with my idea and that they had made three successful prototypes of the suit, which he gave to me, seeing as they would only work for electric types."

"Okay, and what about Pikachu's thunderbolt suddenly changing direction?"

"Oh that's an easy one. In Sinnoh, there's an Electrical company that trains electric types to have complete control over their own electricity, which they use to power the company's generators. I personally know a guy who trains some of the electric types that work there. He showed me how to teach my electric types how to do it."

"Ah, and what about you seeing through Umbreon's double team attack?"

"You can thank Sinnoh's elite four member Bertha for that. She taught me all about the power of observation, which is what I did. I merely observed the attack and noticed all the little things that trainers usually overlook in battles, and was able to find the real one based on all the flaws in the copies."

Gary was amazed at how good Ash had become in just five years. Looking out the window, he was shocked to see that the sun was starting to set.

"Holy smokes, Ash, is it getting late. I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I really need to get going."

"Yeah, I need to get going too," said Ash, and the two headed for the medical bay to pick up their pokemon.

Latias slowly rocked herself on the swing in her garden. She missed Ash. She missed his laugh, his smile, his voice. Levitating off the swing, she made her way to the central fountain. Gazing into it, she stared at the soul dew, the only thing left of her brother. Truth be told, Latias had gotten over her brother's death years ago. What truly filled her with despair was the fact that ever since Ash left Altomare all those years ago, not once did he visit. Latias couldn't help but feel forgotten by the one she loved.

'_Oh, Ash,' _she thought, her gaze still fixed on the soul dew, _'please come back to Altomare, please. I'm in so much pain. Bianca and Lorenzo are supporting me as best they can, but the can't take away the pain in my heart. The only one who can do that is you. So please come back, if only for a little while. I just want to see you again, I just want to hear you again, and I just want to be held in your arms one more time. If I didn't have to protect the soul dew, I would've joined you on your adventures, I would've battled at your side for you, and I would have been happy, for then we would always be together. So please come back once more, just once more. And if you can't, if your duties as an elite four member hold you back as my duties bind me, then please, please, please give some sign that you still at least remember me.'_

Latias could hold back no longer, and fell to the ground weeping. Crying all the tears she could, the dragon soon fell asleep. Unbeknownst to her, she had been unintentionally broadcasting her thought as a telepathic message, and although the range was very short, a girl hidden behind a tree had heard it all, and was now shedding tears of her own. Bianca had heard her friend's thoughts, had heard the sorrow dripping from them, and if she had to play Jirachi for her friend, then so be it.

Bianca ran all the way back home, swearing to drag Ash back to Altomare by one foot if she had to. As soon as she got home, she went up to her room and counted up her savings. '_Just enough for a one way ticket.'_ She went back downstairs and went to the storage closet. After a bit of searching, she found herself a nice sized duffel bag. Pulling it out, she headed back up to her room and packed a couple pairs of clothes, and a book to keep her occupied during the boat trip. She also packed a sleeping bag, just in case.

Once she was all packed and ready to go, Bianca went over to a small wooden box on her nightstand. Opening it up, she dug around in it for a bit, then pulled out a small, folded piece of paper with a heart drawn on the front. Putting it in her pocket, she grabbed the duffel bag and her money, then headed downstairs, bumping into her grandfather along the way.

"Bianca, where are you going?"

"I'm going to bring Ash back to Altomare."

"Whatever for? I mean, it would be nice to see him again and all, but you don't have to bring him here yourself just so he'll visit."

"It's not just for a friendly visit. Latias needs to see him."

"Now now Bianca, I know Latias would enjoy seeing an old friend again, But still."

"No Grandpa, it's not like that." Bianca tried to say more, but she was cut off by Lorenzo.

"Now Bianca, I know you're excited that Ash is back in Kanto, but there's no reason to go over there and drag Ash back. Let him come on his own."

"Grandpa, would you shut up and just listen to me!" screamed Bianca. Seeing that her grandfather had been effectively silenced, she continued in a more moderate voice.

"Latias has been lying to us the whole time, she doesn't miss her brother, well, not in the way we think she does. It's Ash she misses. You should have heard her Grandpa, she sounded so sad. She thinks he's completely forgotten about her. That's why I've got to go get him, Latias needs him."

"But why would she lie like that?"

"My guess is that she was scared what we'd think if she told us."

"Well, I won't try to stop you, but what will you do if he doesn't want to come back." Then Bianca looked at her grandfather, a cold, dangerous glint in her eye.

"Then I'll make him regret ever hurting Latias like that." With that, Bianca walked out the door to the ferry lines. The sun was just setting across the ocean, giving everything a beautiful vermillion glow, but Bianca didn't care. Upon reaching the ferry lines, she bought a ticket to Vermillion city. After being given the ticket and told the ferry would be leaving in an hour, She headed to the pokemon center. After asking the nurse if she could use the phone, she took out the piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and dialed the number written on it. After two rings, a man with dark tanned skin, spiky brown hair, and really squinty eyes answered.

"Hello, Pewter city gym, Brock speaking."

"Brock, it's Bianca. I need a huge favor. Help me out and I'll go out with you."

**And that's a wrap people. OMG! Biggest chapter I have ever written. Anyways, as you can see, I devoted this chapter entirely to backstory. Now that it's all cleared up, I hope you got some answers from it. So, like it, love it, hate it? Oh, and please let me know if Latias' confession made you cry. I worked so hard on that! I want to know. R&R please.**


	4. Chapter 3 part 2

"Hi"- Talking

'Hi' – Telepathy

'_Hi_' – Thinking

"**Hi"** - Electric speech

**Chapter 3 Part 2**

The sun was just setting at the indigo plateau as Ash and Gary walked into the pokemon league's massive medical bay.

"Hello nurse", said Ash pleasantly to the current on duty Nurse Joy, "how are our pokemon doing?"

Nurse Joy looked up from her computer monitor and smiled warmly.

"They've just finished healing, I'll go and bring them out for you two." Getting up, the Nurse went through a set of double doors behind her, then reappeared through them after a few minutes carrying two trays of pokeballs. Thanking the Nurse, the two teens collected their pokemon from her.

"Wait a minute," said Ash, "where's -"

"Piiiikkaaaaaa!" Suddenly a yellow blur shot through the air and collided with Ash's face, sending him to the floor. Looking down, they saw Ash getting back up with Pikachu on his shoulder, squealing out bits of his name and nuzzling Ash's cheek.

"There you are buddy, I was worried there for a second." said Ash as he got to his feet,"All right Gary lets go." Just as the two boys turned to leave, Nurse Joy grabbed Ash's hand, stopping him and making him turn to face her.

"Excuse me mister Ketchum, a moment of your time?" she asked with a pleasant smile. Something about that smile scared Ash and he was quick to nod and tell Gary to wait a bit. Nurse Joy led Ash into a private office and had him sit down. Taking a seat herself she asked her question.

"Now then mister Ketchum, while we were treating your Luxray we noticed it had many scars from previous injuries, some of which looked quite horrendous. Can you please explain why your Luxray is in such condition?"

"Well," Ash began, "are you familiar with the ability berserker theory?" At this Nurse Joy nodded.

"Yes, written by Brock Slate, the theory claims that sometimes pokemon are born with their natural ability more potent than normal, and when activated, lose control over themselves."

"Well, my Luxray is like that. His rivalry ability has given him something like a split personality. When it activates, Luxray becomes a fighting machine. Pain doesn't stop him, it only makes the fight more enjoyable for him, and he won't stop until his opponent is cowering at his feet or until he literally can no longer move."

"... I see," said Nurse Joy, quite shocked.

"I hope this clears everything up for you Nurse, I'm not one who deliberately hurts their pokemon."

"Yes it does, thank you mister Ketchum." said Joy, who had resumed wearing her usual warm smile. With that, Ash left the office and rejoined Gary. As they walked down the hall, Ash suddenly groaned in pain and clutched his chest, bracing himself on the wall as he did so.

"Ash! Are you alright." Gary exclaimed, but Ash waved him off.

"I'm fine Gary" he said, and started walking as if nothing happened. Gary however was not convinced, but decided not to press the matter further.

"Alright, if you say so." The two walked on in silence until they exited the main building.

"Okay Ash, it's a week to Pallet Town from here and you're obviously not packed for travel. How are you getting home?" Ash smirked and pulled out a pokeball.

"Like this." he said and threw the ball, white light bursting out. As soon as the pokemon materialized, Gary had to pick his jaw up off the ground, because standing in front of him was Zapdos. Ash just chuckled at Gary's gobsmacked appearance and climbed onto Zapdos .

"Well Gary, you coming or walking?" Coming to his senses, Gary tentatively approached the electric pokemon.

"Come on Gary" said Ash, "we need to get going, mom's probably worried sick about me, and besides, he doesn't bite." Zapdos started to let loose a weird cawing sound, and Gary realised it was laughing at him. That made him mad. Legendary or not, no one laughed at Gary Oak. Striding up to the thunderbird, he climbed on and seated himself behind Ash. Grinning, Ash kicked his heels into Zapdos' sides, who then reacted by flapping his wings and climbing steadily into the air. When Ash felt that they were high enough, he told Gary to hold on, and spurred zapdos' sides twice, causing him to shoot forward. Gary was nearly thrown off due to the speed, but he held on to Ash tightly. Looking down he saw the ground blurring past as Zapdos ripped through the skies, but then he noticed something.

"Ash," he called.

"Gary, we're not going that fast."

"Ash!"

"Seriously you wuss, you act like you haven't flown before."

"ASH!"

"Oh for the love of Arceus, what is it Gary?"

"We're going the wrong way you nimrod!" Upon hearing this, Zapdos screeched to a sudden halt, nearly throwing off his passengers. Pikachu immediately started shocking both bird and trainer.

"**You idiots!" **he screamed,** " I can't believe this you overgrown yellow turkey, you're supposed to be a bird, not Ash with wings. Arceus, you couldn't find south if it was tap dancing in front of you. You bring shame to flying types everywhere. And you're no better Ash. Seriously, you could get lost by following a map, which you have by the way."**

"**I have not!"**

"**Oh really? Need I remind you of our time in Hoenn? We were going to Petalburg, you had a map and a pokenav, and somehow we end up in Fortree, which is on the other side of the country." **Ash couldn't refute that one, and decided to shut up. After a few more minutes of Pikachu chewing them out for their directional incompetence, Ash had Zapdos turn around and fly them in the proper direction. What would have taken them a week on foot only took Zapdos an hour in air, and soon the lights of Pallet could be seen on the ground below. Ash spurred Zapdos' sides three times then pushed down slightly on his back. Zapdos then started to descend in slow spirals towards Pallet, landing just on the edge of town.

"Well, thanks for the lift, Ash" said Gary as he dismounted Zapdos. Ash also got off the thunderbird, and recalled him into his pokeball.

"No problem Gary. Well, I gotta go see how Mom's doing, later," and with that, Ash headed over to his house, leaving Gary to head over to his grandfather's lab. After a few minutes, Ash had reached his house. Stopping at the door he took a deep breath, braced himself, and rang the doorbell. A moment later, footsteps could be heard, and Delia Ketchum opened the door. Upon seeing who was at the door, she gasped in shock.

"Ash,is that really you?" Ash just smiled at this.

"Hi mom, I'm home." Faster than he could blink, Delia had wrapped her son in a bone crushing hug.

"where have you been honey? Look at you, my baby boy is all grown up."

"It's a long story mom, why don't we go inside first, then I'll tell you all about it." Delia nodded and they both went inside. Delia went into the living room as Ash helped his mother's Mr. Mime make some tea. Bringing out two mugs of hot tea, he handed one to his mother, and sat down in the chair facing his mother, then he recounted the story he had told Gary, only this time he told her everything. Where he had gone, what he trained his pokemon in, the tiniest detail wasn't spared. When Ash had finished, he then pulled a photo book out of his bag and showed the pictures he had taken on his journey.

"There's me training with Steven, oh and that's the party Drake threw for my seventeenth birthday. Gosh that was an awesome day." Delia gazed at the picture. It showed Ash and his Garchomp cutting a cake, with Drake bringing out presents and the ship's crew playing all sorts of instruments, from panflutes to accordions and banjos. All in all, it looked like Ash had the best time of his life.

"The man was like a grand father to me. He even had me calling him grandpa after a month of training with him."

'_Should I tell him? Yes, he's ready, he can take it, I hope.'_

"Ash, there's something you should know. Drake is my father, so he really is your grandfather."

"Wait, what! Mom, why didn't you tell me I had other relatives?"

"Because sweetie, your grandfather was so busy at the time with his elite four duties and his shipping company, which was just getting off the ground at the time, he just didn't have the time to visit the family. So I didn't want to get your hopes up, because you might never have met him at all. But that doesn't mean he wasn't looking out for us. Remember all those gifts you got on the holidays that were labeled 'from a special someone'?" At this Ash nodded, remembering those gifts, usually because they were his most favourite ones. "Well those were all from him sweetie, and remember when we were low on money and a big cheque came in for us, remember how I said it was from a very special person'?" Again Ash nodded, remembering that time all too well. His mom had lost her job in Viridian city as a bank clerk. She had come home crying that day, but when that cheque had come in the mail for them, it was like his mom's sorrows completely vanished. "Well he was the one who wrote it, so you see, even though he didn't have the time to see us, he always made sure we were looked after." Ash couldn't believe it. He actually had a loving grandfather, something he wanted so badly in his youth and was always jealous of Gary for actually having a grandfather. Now he was excited, did he have more family? Were they as awesome as his grandpa? He had to know.

"Mom, do I have any other family members besides grandpa? Aunts, uncles, cousins?"

"Sorry Ash, but I'm afraid not. I was an only child and your grandmother died of a brain tumour when you were only a year old."

"What about my dad then? What about his side of the family?"

_'Oh no, he wants to know. What do I tell him? What if it devastates him? No, he's ready, he can handle it. Oh Arceus please let him be able to handle it.'_

"Well Ash," Delia began very hesitantly, "the truth of the matter is that...your father...he...he..." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "What you must understand Ash is that your father and I didn't meet under favourable circumstances, nor did we love each other. You see Ash, the truth is that I... I... I was raped by your father." The silence was ended by the sound of shattering glass. Ash had dropped his mug in pure shock, and Pikachu looked mortified at the news. Taking another deep breath she continued. "It was probably the worst day of my life, I don't know who he was, because his face was hidden and he had beaten me into unconsciousness. When I came to, I was in the hospital with my parents sitting beside my bed. My mother was crying and Drake was on the verge of tears as well. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant with you, and well I-", but she never got to finish, because Ash had strode over and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much for telling me, I understand how hard it must have been for you to tell me all that, but the fact of the matter is you kept me. You had the option to get rid of me, but instead you kept me, even though I was, and still am a reminder of that day. And not only did you keep me, but you loved me and cared for me. Thank you so much mom." The two shared a comfortable silence in each others arms, and then Ash pulled away. "Well I think that's enough depressing thoughts for one night, I need to go check on my pokemon. Be back in a bit."

"Ash Ketchum I swear, you spend more time with pokemon than you do with your friends and family."

said Delia, grinning a bit. "Why, you spend so much time with them that I'm afraid that one day you're gonna bring one home and tell me you're marrying her." At this Ash chuckled. "And what if I do mom?" He retorted. Delia just smiled, "Then you had better treat her with all the love and respect she deserves." Ash grinned and went out the door, heading straight for the lab, but just as he crossed through the doorway, "Oof!" he bumped into someone, sending both of them falling to the floor. Ash immediately got up and checked who he had run into and was quite surprised. "May? Max? What are you two doing here?" After getting up, Max looked at Ash trying to place him, and realized who he was when Pikachu jumped back on his shoulder. "Holy smokes Ash it's you, I didn't recognize you for a bit there."

"Wow you're right Max, it is Ash." replied an equally surprised May, "He looks so different, I didn't recognize him either." Ash was startled, "I don't look that different do I?" May just nodded.

"So what brings you two to Kanto?"

"Well you see I want to get signed up for the Kanto league, and May 's gonna be taking another crack at the Kanto contests," Max replied eagerly.

"Well why don't you two come with me seeing as Max and I are heading to the same place anyway."

"I'd love to,"said Max, "I really want to see what kinds of pokemon you have now." So the trio headed off to professor Oak's laboratory. Ringing the bell, Ash waited and the door was answered by Gary.

"Oh, it's you," he said, then turned around and shouted down the hall, "Hey gramps, Ashy boy is here!" The sounds of things getting knocked and turned over in haste echoed down the hall and then professor Oak himself came running down it, managing to stop just before crashing into anybody. "Ash, I heard the news, congratulations on joining the elite four." At this Max's jaw dropped and May's eyes bugged out.

"Thank you professor, but I'm just here to see my pokemon."

"Ah, go right ahead, you know where they are." Thanking the professor, Ash went through a set of doors and out into the lab gardens. Heading to the area where his pokemon were kept, but halfway there he was stopped by an incredible pain in his heart. Crying out in pain, he clutched at his chest trying to lessen the pain. After ten seconds the pain vanished. '_Twice in one day! That's never happened before,not to mention it hurt a lot more than usual. What's wrong with me, the doctors say nothing's wrong, but I keep feeling this pain, and now it's getting worse.' _looking to his left, Ash saw Pikachu staring at him worriedly. "Don't worry buddy I'll be fine, now let's go check on the others, I haven't seen them in a long time."

Bianca stepped off the ferry and into the cool night air of the Vermillion harbour. After retrieving her luggage she wandered around the port looking for her escort. "Ah there you are," said male voice behind her. Turning around, she came face to face with the person she was looking for. "You know, you didn't have to bribe me with a night out just for me to help you, we are friends after all."

"Sorry, but it was the only thing I could think of at the time that would guarantee your help."

"No problem, but what has you so hyped like this Bianca, why do you need Ash."

"It involves-" immediately she stopped herself, realizing that she couldn't talk about Latias in public.

"It involves our red and white garden friend." There, that should be good enough for Brock to know what she was talking about, and vague enough that any eavesdroppers wouldn't have a clue what she was talking about. "I see, and you think Ash can help?" asked Brock. Bianca nodded and Brock grinned. "Okay then, I've booked us two rooms at the pokemon center, so we'll rest for the night and then we'll depart and fly to Pallet town in the morning. The flight itself will take about three hours so we'll leave the center at around seven, sound good?"

Bianca nodded and followed Brock to the pokemon center, knowing that tomorrow she would finally be able to talk to Ash.

**A/N: And that's a wrap people. Now, a word to my wonderful reviewers: I AM SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I FEEL SO ASHAMED. Special thanks to Caitou zzzzzzzzzzzzzz and Ash x Latias for spreading the word that my fics were not dead. You guys are the best. The creepy sweet nurse smile of Unohana Retsu strikes again, and apparently the Joys can do it too, (Just a little tip of the hat to all the bleach fans reading this if any) anyways because of me not updating in such a long time, I decided to give this chapter everything I had for my adoring fans, and if I get any flames about Ash's family and/or origins I just have one thing to say to you all. This is my fic and I can do whatever the hell I want with it. If you don't like the fact that I'm not following canon or that I'm being creative and original, then leave. No one is forcing you to read this fic. Now for those that are still here and applauding my originality, Thank you for reading and positively commenting on this. It's comments like your guys' that give me the inspiration and motivation to write so keep them coming. So what do you think of this chapter, like it, love it, hate it? R&R please, and remember, for every flame Latias gets one step closer to a successful suicide, and I don't think that the altoshipping fans reading this will appreciate it if a bunch of people who don't like how I write end up destroying Ash and Latias' beautiful love. See ya all next chapter.**


	5. chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Morning light filtered through the curtains in Ash's bedroom, stirring the room's occupant from slumber. Getting up, Ash checked the clock, which read seven- thirty in the morning, and sighed. Oh how he missed the days when he could sleep like a log 'till lunch came around. Ash had completely stopped sleeping in however, when he began his training journey. The longer you slept, the less time you had for training. Nowadays, Ash couldn't sleep in even if he tried. Letting out a tired groan, Ash headed to the bathroom, showered, and dressed. Then he went back into his room and started rummaging through his bag for something. As he did this, Pikachu woke up and walked over him. Finding what he was looking for, Ash pulled a small metal flask out. Unscrewing the cap, he went to take a drink out of it, only to find out it was empty.

"Darn, we're out."

"**Thank goodness," **replied Pikachu, **"you should seriously stop drinking that stuff Ash. It can't be good for your health."**

"Yeah I know buddy, but it's the only thing I got that helps with the pain."

"**Still, you shouldn't drink it. I think it's making whatever is hurting you, worse. Speaking of, what is wrong with you anyway. You've had some excellent doctors check you and say you're fine, but clearly you're in pain. How the heck does that work?"**

" I got no idea buddy, I got no idea." standing up off the bed, Ash made his way out of the house and into the fresh morning air. Walking over to the lab, Ash opened up the gate leading to the garden, and headed to where his pokemon were kept. As he got closer he could hear some of them out and about, and obviously training by the sounds of things. When he got to the area, he could see who was all training. Feraligatr, Typhlosion, and Venusaur were practicing accuracy and attack speed, while Espeon was training in evasion and reflexes. Naturally this meant that he was the target. The three heavy hitters however, were very hard pressed to get a hit on the agile sun pokemon. No matter what they threw at him, it was either dodged, redirected, or neutralized. Eventually the three gave up, and went to go do other things. Ash smiled as he walked up to his Espeon. "Well it's good to see you guys aren't slacking off any, especially you Espeon. Seriously, you were amazing."

'I still need to improve,' said Espeon, his telepathic voice filling Ash's mind, 'Venusaur's last hyper beam attack nearly hit me. If I had been a second slower with that jump I would have been struck dead on.' Ash smiled as he listened to his Espeon, remembering the day he got him. He was Ash's seventeenth birthday present from his grandfather Drake. Back then he was just a little Eevee, and was so shy it was adorable. Ash had raised him with all the love and care he was capable of giving, and eventually he evolved into a strong, confident Espeon.

'You seem troubled by something Ash, care to tell me?'

"It's nothing Espeon, don't worry about it."

'Ash, am I not your friend? Am I not someone you can confide in. Isn't my evolution a testament to our friendship? You can tell me these things Ash, it's why I'm here.'

"You're right Espeon, sorry about that, You see, I've been getting these brief flashes of pain in my heart, like I'm being stabbed. I've gone to several experienced doctors about this, and when they checked me, they said I was fine. And what's more is that after every flash of pain I get this feeling of emptiness, like there's a piece of me missing. I don't suppose you know what it is do you?"

'As a matter of fact Ash, I know exactly what it is, and I am quite shocked that you, a human, can feel it.'

"Well, what is it?"

'It is known as a soul call Ash. You see, sometimes two people are born whose souls resonate with one another, a soul mate if you will. When a person meets their soul mate, a feeling of absolute peace and happiness surrounds them, like no matter what, as long as they had each other, they would never know pain or sadness. When the soul mates separate, their souls resonate more in tune with each other, and when one person is in extreme emotional distress, their soul sends out a call to the other soul, which translates to the other person feeling some of the emotional pain themselves. The thing is though Ash, this usually only happens with pokemon, and not only that, but you're also feeling physical pain as well which can only mean one thing.'

"I'm afraid to ask, but what does it mean?"

'It means Ash, that your soul mate has suffered something traumatic to the point where she feels she is completely alone in the world, bordering on suicidal. Her soul is screaming for you to come back to her, because only you can take that pain away Ash.' This revelation startled Ash. He wanted to do something for this girl, because no one should be in that kind of pain. The only problem was, who was it? "Espeon, how do I know who my soul mate is?" he asked.

' That I don't know, only you know the answer to that question.'

Ash started running through a list in his head, and looked up into the sky and saw the position the sun was in. _'Holy smokes, nine already! Man, time just flew by, I better get back and...hey what's that?' _Two specks had appeared near the sun and were getting closer very quickly. Soon, Ash could see what they were. "What the, Aerodactyl?" he thought out loud.

'It appears someone is heading this way Ash,' said Espeon, 'shall we go greet them?'

'Yeah, let's." With that, Ash got up and called Pikachu, who dashed over and leapt onto his shoulder, and headed over to the descending Aerodactyl, Espeon following behind him.

As soon as her Aerodactyl landed, Bianca got off and took in the view of Pallet Town. Then she spotted someone heading their way, and realized it was Ash. "Brock he's over there," she said, pointing Ash's way. Looking in the indicated direction, Brock saw that it was indeed Ash. "Wow, didn't recognize him for a second there," he said as he recalled his two Aerodactyl, " let's get going, you said you really needed to speak to him?" Bianca nodded, and the two headed over to meet Ash. When they reached him, Ash was stunned to see them there. "Brock? Bianca? What are you two doing here?"

"Ash, you've got to get back to Altomare, do you have any idea how much pain Latias is in because of Latios' death? She's gone into a massive state of depression, Ash. She's even suicidal."

"Wait, what! But hold on, what do I have to do with this?"

"All I know Ash, is that she desperately wants you beside her, grandfather and I are doing all we can for her, but nothing's working. We've had to lock her in the garden for her own safety. Last night I heard her talking to herself. It was like she was calling, no, pleading you to come back. She thinks you've completely abandoned and forgotten about her." At this, Ash was shocked. He didn't know Latias felt this strongly about him. _'Wait a minute, could Latias be..."_

'I had my suspicions while listening to the woman, but that last part cinched it. Ash, this Latias is indeed your soul mate.'

_'Wait, what! She can't be my soul mate, she isn't human, and aren't pokemon human relations illegal?'_

'Souls don't differentiate between species Ash, and who cares about that stupid law anyway. You humans, always trying to control or destroy what you don't understand.'

Brock and Bianca meanwhile, stared at the two in confusion, having seen a myriad of emotions cross Ash's face for apparently no reason. Then Bianca saw the Espeon standing behind Ash, and realized what he was doing. Brock however, was still clueless. Then Ash pulled out of his thoughts and said, "I'll need to think about this. In the meantime why don't you two come over to my place for breakfast, I'm sure you guys are hungry." At this their stomachs growled loudly, causing Ash to smirk. "I'll take that as a yes, come on guys." said Ash, and led them to his house. Brock then noticed Espeon following Ash. "Hey Ash," he said, "you got an Espeon?"

"Yup, got him as an Eevee, he's one of my best sweepers."

Soon the group had reached their destination and Ash led them inside, passing his mother as he did.

"Ash honey, who's this. I remember Brock, but the lovely lady is a new face."

"Oh, mom, let me introduce you to Bianca. She's a good friend of mine from Altomare. Bianca this is my mom."

"A pleasure to meet you ma'am," Delia just smiled. "The pleasure's all mine dear," she said, "and please, call me Delia."

As soon as the three were seated at the table, along with May and Max , Delia brought out the food, the amount of which could feed ten.

"Okay everyone, dig in." Which everybody did.

Ash had, as usual, loaded his plate with as much food as possible, and started devouring it with reckless abandon, while everyone watched.

"Wow May," spoke up Max, "I think Ash could give Munchlax some serious competition in the eating department."

"It's not fair," said a fuming May, "Ash can eat whatever, and as much as he wants, while I have to constantly watch what I eat."

"Why is that?" asked Bianca.

"Because I'm a coordinator, a very successful one mind you, and as such I'm constantly getting called in for photo shoots, modeling, and Tv ads. With that kind of pressure over my body, it's a wonder I haven't developed an eating disorder from trying to keep my figure. And on top of that, dress prices are climbing, meaning I got to stay in shape to fit into the ones I have. Thank goodness I get to keep every dress I model in, otherwise I'd be broke."

"Wow, I had no idea being a coordinator was that stressful. Maybe you should take a vacation. A couple of weeks away from it all would probably do you wonders."

"I've thought about it, but I'm not sure where I could go without my fans and the news reporters constantly hording after me."

"why not Altomare? It's beautiful, tranquil, and shrouded in legend. It's the perfect place to take a vacation, not to mention the place is a maze. You could easily lose your unwanted tag a longs." May had to admit, that didn't sound half bad. The more she thought about it, the better it sounded. "Alright, as soon as the next ship to Altomare comes in, I'm on vacation for two weeks." she said cheerfully. The rest of the meal passed by in silence, and when everyone was finished they started doing their own thing. "So Brock," said Bianca, "I guess I owe you a date."

"Nah, it's fine Bianca. You don't have to date me just to pay a favour." Everyone's jaws dropped upon hearing this. "Sis, pinch me I must be dreaming."

"I don't think you're dreaming Max, I heard it too."

"But sis, Brock would never turn down a date." The two were brought back to reality when they heard a loud thump. Toxicroak, who had popped out of his ball to drag Brock away from a pretty girl as usual, had fainted in utter shock. Brock, for his part, looked annoyed.

"Okay guys, I can say no to a date, it's not that unusual, is it?" Everyone just nodded

Sighing, Brock just shook his head. "Okay guys, I got two reasons why I said no. Number one is that Bianca's a friend, and I always help friends for free, no strings attached. Reason two is that I'm already in a relationship with someone." That brought everyone back to their senses.

"Wow Brock, congrats on getting a girl," said Ash.

"Well now it makes sense," said Max, "that's probably the only reason he would turn down a date."

Then May remembered something. "Hey Max Don't you need to get your pokedex validated for your Kanto league challenge?"

"Holy smokes! You're right sis, I totally forgot about that, we gotta go." With that, Max shot off to the professor's lab. "Max wait! You forgot your..., oh he's gone. Might as well bring it to him, cant validate his pokedex if he doesn't have it, right." Grabbing Max's bag, she dashed off after him.

"Well, I'm going to my room, I've got something important to think about," said Ash,and headed up to his room, Pikachu following behind him. Brock was about to leave as well, but was stopped by Espeon. 'Hold on Brock, may I have a word with you in private, please.' Nodding, Brock followed Espeon outside, onto the back porch.

'That girl of yours Brock, she's a pokemon isn't she?' asked Espeon.

"How did you know that?" said Brock in a warning tone of voice.

'No need to get aggressive, she put a claim scent on you, that's how I knew.'

"Still, what does that have to do with anything?"

'Has Bianca told you why she's here?'

"Yeah, Latias is in a major state of depression, and Bianca thinks Ash can help her."

'I see. It appears that Bianca doesn't fully understand the magnitude of Latias' feelings. In actuality Brock, Latias is despairing because she loves Ash, but thinks that he has forgotten and cast her aside.'

This shocked Brock, "if that's the case, why haven't you told Ash about it?"

'I have, but that's where the problems occur. You see, Ash is torn. On one hand, Ash wants nothing more than to go to Latias and comfort and love her, but he doesn't want to look like a freak to the rest of society. Ash is scared Brock, and this is where you come in. I need you to go and tell him that you're in that kind of relationship. Tell him what to expect and let him ask his questions, but most of all, tell him he has your support. He is afraid that if he goes through with it, all his friends will leave him, so by giving him your support Brock, you are taking a lot of the burden off his shoulders.' After thinking a bit, Brock answered. "All right, I'll do it, but why are you so adamant about this?"

'Because Brock, he's my best friend, and I want him to be happy, and he never will be unless he accepts this.' Nodding, Brock headed to Ash's room, thinking what he would say. When he reached Ash's room he knocked on the door. "Yo Ash, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Sure thing Brock." Was the response. Steeling his nerves, Brock stepped inside the room. Facing Ash he composed his thoughts and prayed that Arceus was with him. "Ash, I've got something important to tell you. I told you guys I was in a romantic relationship with someone right?" Ash nodded. "Well, the truth is... that someone's a pokemon." Silence, not a sound was made. "I...I understand if you want to call off our friendship-"

"No! No, definitely not. I was just surprised is all. I never thought you would be in that kind of relationship."

"Thank Arceus, I was scared you wouldn't want anything to do with me if I told you."

"No Brock, you're my friend no matter what. I do want to ask some questions though."

"Go right ahead."

"Well, the first one would be, is it illegal or anything?"

" In some countries yes, but not Kanto."

"Okay, then how does the public feel about it?"

"Well we do get the odd stare or rude remark about it here or there, but all in all it isn't that bad."

"Are there any rules you have to abide by?"

"Oh sure. For example Mileena, that's her name by the way, has to be taken in for a biyearly physical and psychological test to make sure she isn't being abused. If I don't then it's jail time, but that's the only major rule really."

"I see." After a bit of thought Ash wanted to know one last thing. "Brock, if I ever get in a relation like that, you'd stick with me right?"

"Of course Ash, we're pals. Whatever you decide, you got my vote of confidence."

"Thanks Brock. You really helped me out." Brock just smiled.

Any time Ash. Any time."

**A/N**

**And that's a wrap people. So who all saw that coming. Now, I won't be updating for a few days due to me leaving town, but I'll get back on Monday, so enjoy the chapter until then. So, like it, love it, hate it? R&R please. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello everybody, just a few things to address before we get to the story. First off, thank you everyone who favorited this story and/or me as an author. When I first started this story I thought it wouldn't be that successful, but I have been proven wrong. I never expected this story to be so popular, so once again, thank you everyone. Next is the issue with the Black Eon. I only started that story because at the time I had no inspiration for Final Piece of my Heart, and now that I'm brimming with bottled up inspiration due to my absence from this site, Black Eon is going to take a back seat until this story is either completed, or I once again run out of inspiration for this story. Now a bunch of you were wondering why Brock was paired with a pokemon, right? Well, the reasons are;**

**It's unique. How many stories do you know that has Brock paired with a pokemon? Come on people, by now you should know that I try to use as much originality as possible.**

**Plot development. Put yourself in Ash's shoes. How would you react if you found out that a pokemon was not only madly in love with you, but was spiritually bound to you as well. Ash was completely caught off guard, and not only that, but those kind of relationships are not pleasing to the public. Ash was frightened that all his friends would abandon him if he went through on his relationship with Latias. If one of his friends was already in that kind of relationship, he or she could tell Ash what to expect and give him his support, thereby making Ash feel much better about the whole thing, and since Brock was the only logical choice at the time, I chose him.**

**I like human/pokemon pairings. It shows that you don't have to be human to be a person.**

**Now that that's all settled, I'll respond to some reviews that caught my attention.**

**P3MF: I believe the fanfiction you were referring to was Altomare Revisited, which was written by abbodon. I'm actually using a few ideas from that and giving them my own personal touch, such as the instance you just pointed out.**

**Ardtornismyname: Hmm. You know, I think I could make it work :).**

**Ridgyaxe: Yes you did, and thank you for giving me the idea in the first place :).**

**Mijumaruwott: you'll be pleased to know that I have fixed my first two chapters and thought up a decent summary for the story. Wasn't easy though, seeing as I suck at those.**

**And that's all I had to say. Now without further ado, on with the story.**

"**Hi"- electric speech**

"Hi"- regular/pokemon to pokemon speech

'Hi'- Telepathy

_'Hi'- normal thoughts_

**Chapter 5**

As the time rolled into the afternoon, Ash, Espeon, and Pikachu headed back to the professor's garden for some moderate training. Stepping into the lab, Ash saw Max taking his newly Kanto league registered pokedex back from Professor Oak.

"Here you go Max, you're all set to take on the Kanto league," said the professor.

"All right, thanks professor," said Max cheerfully, then he noticed Ash.

"Oh hey Ash, I've just finished registering for this year's Kanto league, and I'm gonna win it and take on the champion."

"Pfft, oh please Max," piped up May, "I doubt you could get that far."

"Aw, come on sis, have some faith in me for once. It won't kill you."

"I'm not saying you can't do it Max, I'm just saying that the chances are highly unlikely."

"Listen to your sister kid," said Gary, who had just entered the room, " It took me five years to get strong enough to take on the champion, and even after all that training, Ash still curb stomped me. And trust me, if you heard what the other elite four say about him, you'd be running home to mommy."

"Hey, I would not!" Max shouted in indignation.

"What do they say about him?" asked May.

"Only that they have not come even close to beating him, but that's just sugarcoating it. From what Ash told me, they never came close to taking down a single one of his pokemon." At this, jaws dropped.

"Gary," said the professor, " surely Ash exaggerates, I know a couple of the members myself, and I can tell you that they could at least take a few of Ash's pokemon down with them."

"Gramps, I was the one fighting Ash, and I swear, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed the things his pokemon did were even possible."

Well," said Ash, " as nice as it is for everyone to be talking about me, I have some pokemon to train," and with that, Ash headed into the gardens.

"I'm going with him," said Gary, "I need to see how he trains his pokemon to do all that," and with that Gary headed out after Ash. Shrugging, May also went out, along with professor Oak, who was quite curious of the capabilities of Ash's pokemon.

"Might as well go with them," said Max to no one in particular, "I still don't see what the big deal is. I mean, I've seen Ash train loads of times, it's not that special," and followed his sister out the door.

Meanwhile, Ash was just coming up to where his pokemon were being kept, but was surprised to see Brock and Bianca already there.

"Hey you two," Ash called, "what brings you guys out here?"

"Well,"replied Bianca, "I came over to draw some of your pokemon, and Brock was the one who guided me here, but are your pokemon supposed to be arguing like that?" Looking over to his pokemon, Ash was surprised to see that they were indeed arguing over something.

"Hey, Espeon," said Ash, "you think you could go down there and find out what's going on?"

'Sure thing Ash,' replied the sun pokemon, and headed over to the group of arguing pokemon. After a few minutes he returned with the news.

'It appears there is an argument going on about what kind of training should be done today,' he said.

"Well then," said Ash, his eyes getting a glint to them that made Espeon shiver, "It seems that I'll be making the training schedule today," and headed over to his squabbling pokemon, Pikachu and Espeon right behind him.

"All right you all, listen up!" Ash shouted when he reached the group, effectively quietening them. "Since you all can't agree on any one thing, you'll be doing everything." he said, getting a chorus of groans in response. "All right everyone, enough complaints and line up," Ash demanded, and soon his pokemon were standing in three neat rows.

"Now then, group one will be: Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Espeon, Blastoise, Staraptor, and Froslass. You will be split into two teams, big and small." Immediately, the selected pokemon formed their group, and divided up into the teams. Blastoise, Feraligatr, and Typhlosion in the big team; and Espeon, Staraptor, and Froslass in the small team.

"Alright, big team practices long range attack accuracy and precision, and small team practices evasion and agility." The small team, with the exception of Espeon, were metaphorically bashing their heads against the wall. Blastoise, being the leader of a well known fire fighter squad, was a master of precision and accuracy. Bumps, bruises, and a very thorough soaking were imminent.

_'Perfect,'_ thought Ash, _'Espeon was saying he needed improvement, so Blastoise will certainly be a good challenge for him, and the other two are a bit lacking in evasion, so this should help them.'_

"Okay then group one, find a good spot and get to work." The group immediately did so, except for Blastoise, who had retreated into his huge shell. When he reemerged, he was holding his trademark black sunglasses, and rejoined the group after putting them on.

"Okay, lets see," continued Ash, "group two will be: Infernape, Garchomp, Glalie, Floatzel, Pikachu, Snorlax, Venusaur, Torterra, Charizard, Gliscor, Heracross, and Sceptile. You guys will grab a partner and face off against another pair for teamwork exercises in a two on two battle scenario." As the second group was pairing up and getting organized, Ash thought out the next group. "Okay," he decided, " group three will be: Electivire, Magnezone, Swellow, and Noctowl. You four will work on attack speed and stamina. The designated group immediately started running, or in the birds' case flying, around the garden. First the electric types would run (or float) as fast as they could, while the birds would launch as many attacks as they could. When a lap was completed, the roles were reversed. As the group ran off to train, Max, May, Gary, and professor Oak came onto the scene, and were floored by Ash's organization and command over his pokemon.

"Okay," said Max, "I take back what I said earlier. This is nothing like how Ash trained his pokemon back in Hoenn."

"It's incredible," replied May, "everything is so organized, and he's training them all so well."

Meanwhile, Ash had just figured out what the last group would be doing. "Okay, last but not least is group four which will be: Meganium, Lanturn, Luxray, Torkoal, and..., darn, one short. Oh yeah, forgot about you. Zapdos, training time," said Ash and threw Zapdos' ball into the air, the thunderbird appearing in a flash of light. Everyone save Gary and the professor nearly fainted in shock. After wrapping their heads around the fact that Ash indeed had a legendary, they started bombarding him with questions too quick and numerous to answer.

"One at a time," shouted Ash, "One at a time people, I can't answer all you guys at once."

"Alright," said Max, " I believe the unanimous question here is, how on earth did you catch a Zapdos?" to which everyone nodded their head. Ash was about to answer, when out of the blue, his Lanturn shocked him, much to everyone's shock and concern. Ash however, didn't even react, and when the electric shock was done, Ash started speaking like he had been talking to Lanturn the whole time.

"Oh yeah," he said sheepishly, "forgot about you guys,. Anways, Zapdos, you're with group four working on attack manipulation and combination.. Giving a curt nod, Zapdos followed the group and soon, they were out of sight.

"What was that just now?" asked a very confused Max.

It's Ash's suit. Apparently it allows him to literally talk to any electric type pokemon using electrical discharges. It's one of the reasons Ash is extremely difficult to fight, you can't tell what he's commanding his pokemon to do, and therefore you can't defend." replied Gary.

"Do you think I could get one of those?"

"Impossible. Only three were made and Ash has them all."

Ash just chuckled at Max's pouting face, and got back to the question he had been asked.

"Okay guys, you wanted to know how I captured Zapdos, well it went something like this."

A seventeen year old Ash was excited. After four years, he was back in Sinnoh. Not only that, but the researchers of Devon actually went with his idea, and made not one, but three of those suits. However, the materials needed for them, and the fact that it only translated for one type of pokemon, had made Steven decide that he wouldn't start production on them. Ash was grateful that he had been given the three prototypes though. As he headed for Celestic town to meet up with Cynthia for his month long training session with her, he heard what sounded like explosions, coarse shouts, and frantic cawing and squawking. At first Ash thought it was a couple of guys pokemon battling, but that idea was thrown out the door when he got closer and could hear what was being said.

"Arceus almighty, this thing was a pain to bring down, how much will it be worth anyway, bro?" asked a voice behind some bushes.

"Millions easily. One thing's for sure, whatever the amount will be, we'll be living the good life for a long time. I mean, just about anyone'll pay through the nose for a Zapdos," replied a second voice, a little farther from the first. Ash silently snarled. Poachers, oh how he hated poachers. Looking through the bushes, Ash got a good look at the two. They wore forest camo coveralls, and also wore green bucket helmets. The farthest one had a goatee, but Ash couldn't see their eyes because they wore sunglasses. He didn't know who manufactured their equipment, but their all terrain cargo vehicle was made by Devon. Being hauled into the back of the armoured truck in a reinforced, electric proof cage, was Zapdos. Thinking up a plan, Ash headed away from the hunters, until he was far enough to not be heard. Then he called out Infernape and told him and Pikachu the plan. Meanwhile, the poachers had just finished getting the Zapdos in the back of the truck, when an Infernape raced by.

"Holy smokes bro, did you see that!" exclaimed the first one.

"That I did bro. Come on, Infernapes are pretty rare around these parts," said the second one, and jumped into the cab of the armoured cargo truck. Turning the key, the hunter was shocked to find that the truck wouldn't start. "Oh for the love of Arceus, this thing's brand new, why is it acting up?" Getting out of the vehicle, he headed over to the trucks hood and started to open it.

"I swear if there isn't any thing wrong I'm gonna-"

"CHUUUUUUUUUU!"

-and was promptly shocked unconscious by Ash's Pikachu, who had been hiding in the battery compartment.

"What the? Bro, you okay?" asked the second one, and was totally unprepared for the mach punch attack that came out of no where and knocked him unconscious as well. Stepping out of the bushes, Ash surveyed his pokemon's handiwork.

"Great job Infernape, return," he said and recalled Infernape back into his ball. Going over to Pikachu, he surveyed the interior of the vehicle.

"nice work Pikachu. You snuck in using the air vent in the underside of the vehicle, then chewed apart the battery wires so it wouldn't start. Very clever buddy." Squealing in delight from Ash's praise, Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder. Ash then made his way over to the Zapdos, but when it saw him, it went into another fit, and started to thrash and scream and shoot electricity in an effort to escape. Ash reached through the cage bars and put a hand on Zapdos, making it recoil from the touch and shocking the offending limb, allowing Ash to hear him.

"**No! Get away from me human, I will not be captured, I will not be enslaved and made a personal weapon to use on a whim!" **shrieked Zapdos.

"**Zapdos, calm down. I'm not going to capture you." **Ash replied. This shocked Zapdos.

"**You can speak through electricity, human? How is that possible?"**

"**That isn't important right now. I need you to stay calm so I can get you out of this cage."**

"**And for what, human, to capture me? Sorry but that's not happening."**

"**Zapdos, I have no intentions of capturing you." **To prove his point, Ash threw his bag to the side.

"**See Zapdos. No pokeballs, and I can't capture you without them." **Zapdos glared at Ash, trying to sense any deception in his words, but eventually he relented and calmed down. Ash unlocked the cage and helped Zapdos out of it.

"**Why do you help me, human?" **asked Zapdos.

"**I help you Zapdos, because not only is it the right thing, but also because no one deserves to be captured solely for money."**

"**You are the strangest human I've seen. Usually your kind is always driven by their greed and thirst for power, but you would rather help a legendary escape from a trap rather than capitalize on his folly and capture him."**

"**Yeah well, I don't believe that just because you have a rare and powerful pokemon, it makes you unstoppable. I've fought other legendaries before, and although they were tough, I managed to beat them with my best friends."**

"**And yet you would have others fight your battles for you? Why do you enslave pokemon and have them fight each other for your own amusement?"**

"**It's not enslavement Zapdos. When a trainer captures a pokemon it's our way of saying come with me and I'll make you the strongest. A trainer fights another as a sort of test for the pokemon. If they win, it means that the pokemon has improved and grown stronger through the efforts of the trainer, and if they lose it means more training is required. Granted some trainers see pokemon as nothing more than a means for battle, but that's only a small percentage. The majority of us treat our pokemon like partners and not slaves."**

"**So if you were to capture me you would be saying that you can make me even stronger than I am now? I doubt that's possible."**

"**Then why don't we make a bet Zapdos, you and I battle. I'll use one pokemon that has a type disadvantage against you, and if I lose I will release all my pokemon and quit being a trainer. However, if I win, then I get to capture you." **Ash then extended his hand out towards Zapdos, who grasped it with a talon and shook it.

"**You got a deal," **he said. After Ash had locked the poachers in their own cage and called officer Jenny, he and Zapdos headed in to a secluded clearing so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"All right Buizel, show him what you're made of," Said Ash and threw a pokeball out into the clearing, the white light bursting out and revealing the sea otter. With a shriek, Zapdos shot at Buizel with a drill peck. Buizel shot into the air with aqua jet, and slammed down on Zapdos as he passed underneath, then scored a hit with a super effective ice punch before Zapdos could recover. Zapdos recovered from the super effective ice attack, and ascended into the sky, letting loose a discharge attack.

"Buizel, water pulse counter shield," Ash commanded, and Buizel spun on the ground while using water pulse, creating torrents of water that swayed and spiraled, completely blocking the electrical attack and striking Zapdos at the same time. Then, without giving the thunderbird time to recover, Buizelzel shot at Zapdos like a rocket by using aqua jet again, impacting with the thunder bird's chest and knocking him out of the sky. Zapdos had only just managed to right itself, when Buizel slammed down from above and launched a devastating ice punch between his wings. The critical Ice attack was too much for Zapdos, and he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, Buizel striking the conqueror pose on the bird's prone body. Walking up to the downed bird, Ash smirked. "Well Zapdos, looks like you lost." Zapdos weakly managed to get some electricity through to Ash.

"**I lost, to a Buizel no less. If this is how strong one of your base evolution pokemon are, then I would be honored to see how strong you can make me."**

"**Thank you Zapdos, but still , should you ever wish to leave, just let me know and I'll release you." **Then he turned to Buizel.

"Buizel, you were incredible. You actually took down a legendary, I knew you could do it buddy."

"Bui, bui," said Buizel, and then started glowing a bright white. When the light faded, Buizel had evolved into a Floatzel.

"Way to go Floatzel, you finally evolved." said Ash excitedly, and returned Floatzel to his pokeball. Then he rooted around in his bag and brought out an empty pokeball.

"Well, see you later then Zapdos," and tapped Zapdos with the ball, which opened and sucked him in. The ball showed no signs of resistance and pinged immediately, meaning that Zapdos had not fought in the ball. Then the ball was enveloped in light and disappeared, teleporting to professor Oak's lab.

"And that's how I caught him." said Ash, finishing up with his tale.

"So you caught him because he lost a bet?" asked Gary.

"Not really. I caught him because I wanted to prove to him that humans aren't enslaving pokemon, but rather strengthening them."

"But still Ash, isn't it a little much to bet your entire career?"

"You honestly don't get it do you Gary. If I wanted to prove Zapdos wrong I had to capture him, and the only way to do that was this bet. However, because he was betting his freedom, I had to bet something just as big."

"Even so Ash, I don't believe for one second that a Buizel could beat a Zapdos, there's just no way."

"You're partly right Gary. Back then, Buizel could beat a legendary if he went all out and used every trick he had, but even then he probably lost. However, at the time, Zapdos was severely underestimating Buizel which led him to take massive damage from his aqua jet ice punch combo. And he was also caught off guard by Buizel's counter shield attack, allowing Buizel to score massive damage again. If Zapdos had taken me seriously, then the outcome could have been different."

"Oh, so it was his own fault then. Well that explains a lot. I learned to never ever underestimate Ash just because his pokemon weren't all evolved the hard way." Ash smirked and looked up at the sky, noticing that the sun was much lower than before when he started the training session.

"Um, professor do you have the time?" Professor oak glanced at his watch, and his eyes widened a bit.

"My my Ash, aren't you quite the story teller, it's about five thirty right now, meaning four whole hours passed."

"Oh good, just in time." and Ash pulled out a whistle from one of his pockets and gave it a long blow. Immediately all training stopped and silence covered the garden.

"All right everybody, we're done for today." he shouted, and all his pokemon went and did their own thing or began cleaning up.

"So Brock, want to help me make dinner for my pokemon?" Brock chuckled.

"You know me Ash, I'm always up for cooking."

"May I join you two," asked Bianca, "I'm a bit interested in seeing what cooking pokemon food is like." Ash and Brock smiled and nodded.

The three went into professor Oak's kitchen and found Tracey Sketchit sitting at the table eating potato chips and reading an art magazine.

"Hey Tracey," said Ash, and Tracey lifted a hand in greeting. Ash and Brock immediately went to work, adding different things and stirring them together. Bianca had started talking to Tracey about different kinds of sketching materials. Then Ash remembered something.

"Hey Brock," said Ash quietly, "what kind of pokemon is Mileena?"

"Hmm, oh you know her. We met her in that old abandoned mansion back in Johto. She had illusions all over the place to make it look maintained."

"Wait a minute, you mean that Ninetales, that's Mileena? Isn't she like what, two hundred or something?"

"Ash, ten of our years is like one for a ninetales, so she's really only like twenty." That got Ash thinking. Did legendaries die of age, and if so how quickly or slowly do they age in comparison to humans? Would Latias live on centuries after he had passed away?

Ash? Helloooo, earth to Ash." Brock said as he snapped his fingers in front of Ash's face. Snapping out of his thoughts, Ash saw Brock staring at him in concern.

"You okay Ash?" he asked

"Yeah, just thinking about something, don't worry about it."

"well in any case, the food's done, so let's get your pokemon fed and head over to your Mom's for some grub ourselves."

"Yeah, let's." Getting Bianca, Ash and Brock went out and filled the pokemon's food dishes, then headed to Ash's house, Ash thinking of his own mortality the whole way.

**And that's a wrap people. For those who don't know, the conqueror pose is where the person has one foot on the ground and the other on an elevated surface so the thigh is parallel with the waist. The person's hand on the side of the raised leg is in a fist and extended at an angle, and the other is placed on the hip with the elbow bent. So, like it? Love it? Hate it? R&R please.**


	7. Chapter 6

"Hi" Regular speech

'Hi' Telepathy

"**Hi" **electric speech

_'Hi' _Normal thoughts

**Chapter 6**

Dinner at the Ketchum house was much more lively than breakfast had been.

"And then Pikachu was enhancing Garchomp's attacks with electricity, while Glalie turned Floatzel into some kind of ice missle. It was awesome. Oh oh, and then..." Max went on in overeager enthusiasm, describing the training done by Ash's pokemon.

"I'm more interested by the fact that Ash caught Zapdos. That was quite the feat, considering that they are extremely powerful and extremely hard to find." said Brock.

"Speaking of hard things to find," said Ash, "how did you capture an Aerodactyl. I mean, It's not like you can just waltz into a cave and find one, you know?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. You see, the Pewter Museum imported a fossil extraction machine from Oreburgh in Sinnoh, and have revived a large bunch of fossilized pokemon for a live exhibit. As the gym leader, and a good friend of the curator, he gave me a bunch, which included those Aerodactyl."

"Oh, I see. And how's your pokemon breeder career going?"

"Very well, thank you. I'm on the verge of a new discovery actually, pokemon that learn moves they can't normally learn, through breeding. Seriously, this one challenger came in one day and used a vulpix, and during the fight it used energy ball. When I asked the trainer about it, he said it had known energy ball when he caught it. I just need solid proof and research how it all works, and it'll be another astounding find by Brock Slate."

After the evening meal was finished, Ash headed up to his room, Pikachu and Espeon following. Lying on the bed, Ash gazed out the window and gazed at the setting sun.

'I can sense a great many things are troubling you Ash, care to talk about it?' asked Espeon.

"It's about Latias, Espeon."

'What about your soul mate is troubling you?'

"Well for one thing, she's a legendary, and as such can live for hundreds, if not thousands of years. She's gonna out live me by a long shot Espeon, and it's gonna break her heart watching it happen. What do I do?"

'Well unless you learn the secret of immortality, something that I think is more a vile curse than a divine blessing, there's absolutely nothing you can do. All you really can do Ash, is make the short time she has with you the happiest time of her life.'

"Yeah, but when I'm gone she'll be alone again. She'll have no friends, no family, and I'm pretty sure we won't be able to have kids. She'll be completely alone Espeon, and I don't want to do that to her."

'Well, about that last part, there is this one legend about it.'

"what last part? Wait, you men us having kids? That's actually possible?"

'I don't know for sure. It is only a legend after all.'

"How does it go?"

'Normally I wouldn't tell you. The legends we pokemon hold are not meant for the ears of humans. However, because it directly concerns you, and because I know you to be completely trustworthy, I will tell you, but you must swear on your life not to tell another human soul.'

"I swear, Espeon."

'Very well, the legend goes like this. Long ago, when humans and pokemon were at one time very close, a human and pokemon fell in love with each other, and conceived children. The pokemon rejoiced at this, for they understood the wisdom of the being of emotion, and that love knows no bounds. The humans however, considered this act horrendous, and promptly attacked and killed the two lovers. Outraged at the ignorance of humans, pokemon split away from humans, no longer wanting anything to do with them. Centuries later, pokemon and humans joined back together in the way we are now, but the murder of the two lovers was not wholly forgiven, so all pokemon keep a bit of their heart to themselves, the bit that loves. As such, even if humans and pokemon mate, no children would come from it. Only a pokemon that has utterly and truly given their heart to a human, could give life to children.'

"So, if Latias absolutely loves me with all her heart, and I love her back the same way, we can have kids?"

'So says the legend, but remember it is a very old legend, and not everything might be truthful about it due to its age. Add to the fact that it's passed down orally by very old pokemon, and it's safe to assume that something about it might have been forgotten or warped.'

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

'Still, I can assure you, If you give Latias the happiest moments of her life, that will be enough to keep her going long after you pass away.'

"Thanks, Espeon."

'Anytime Ash, but that isn't the whole problem, is it? You've accepted the fact that you can love pokemon. You've accepted the fact that she will out live you, but something still holds you back. You still feel doubt, why is this.'

"...It's not something I like to talk about."

'You can tell me Ash. I won't judge you.'

"No, I can't face Latias after what I did to her."

'Ash, I'm your friend. I will understand. You can tell me.'

"No' I can't."

'Ash please, tell me,' said Espeon, more forcefully this time

"No!"

'That's it! I tried asking nicely, but your stubbornness has forced my hand. All I want is your happiness, but how can I help you achieve it when you cling to the thing that holds you from it.' And with that, Espeon's eyes glowed with multicolored light. Diving into his trainer's mind and memories, Espeon searched for the one Ash would not face. When he found it, he focused on it, and pulled himself into it.

A fifteen year old Ash entered the Hoenn prison with grim determination. Ever since the memory had resurfaced, he had to know how they did it.

"Halt," said the Jenny on duty, "Please state your name and business here."

"Yes ma'am," replied Ash, "Ash Ketchum is my name. I'm here to see prison convicts 119 and 120."

Jenny immediately pulled out a book and started flipping through it, stopping at a certain page and putting a finger on it.

"Ah here it is. Yup, we've been expecting you, I'll take you to the convicts." Jenny then led Ash down a few halls and stopped in front of a large door.

"They're waiting for you in here. They'll be separated from you by six inches of bullet proof glass. A phone on the side of the wall is your only means of communication with them. You have thirty minutes." And with that, the officer opened the door, and Ash stepped inside. He immediately spotted the two he had come to talk to. One had sandy blonde hair styled in two spiral cones on either side of her head, and the other had light blue hair that fanned out to look like small wings on her neck. These two girls were Annie and Oakley, the very two girls that had stolen the soul dew four years ago. Sitting down at the table imbedded into the glass, Ash picked up the phone, the two thieves doing likewise.

"What are you doing here brat?" Annie asked, but not out of hostility like Ash had expected, but rather curiosity.

"You're being more... civil than I expected," said Ash, "I mean, I was expecting a tirade of harsh words and threats for when you get out of here."

"Yeah well, you're not the one who put us in here. We did that by ourselves," said Oakley.

"And all you really did to stop us was pull the plug on the DMA, which had gone haywire at the time," finished Annie.

"So you're not after my guts at all?" asked Ash, to which the girls responded with a shake of the head.

"So what's been going on while we've been stuck in here. The guards tell us nothing."

"Well, the only thing that's happened that would affect you guys is the fact that Team Rocket's been taken down."

"Whaaaat!" they both yelled.

"Tell us what happened kid," Oakley demanded.

"All I know is that one of the international police members managed to infiltrate team rocket headquarters and gather enough evidence to bring Giovanni down." Ash replied.

At this the two girls slumped.

"Well Annie, looks like we're out of the job," said Oakley.

"this stinks. Here I am praying day and night that the boss'll come bail us out, and it turns out he's in the same position. What're we going to do now?" whined Annie. "we're getting parole in a few months, but no one'll hire us when they find out we were in Team Rocket." As Oakley began to think, she got a good look at Ash.

"Hey kiddo, What's your name?" she asked.

"Oh, it's Ash, Ash Ketchum."

"Wait, Ketchum? As in Delia's kid?" At this, Annie looked at him in surprise.

"Hold on, you guys know my mom?"

"Well I'll be, Delia has a kid. I did not see her as the settling down type." said Annie

"You see Ash," Oakley began, "We're actually quite the BFFs with your mom. We've known each other since we were teenagers."

"Oh yeah. Those were the good times, your mom was such a rebel back then," said Annie

"We did everything together back then, but then, one day your mom just disappears. Poof, gone."

"We looked all over Hoenn for her, but we couldn't find her, and no matter what we did we couldn't get in touch with her."

"We'll have to visit when we get out. But younger days aside, you came here to ask something, not hear about the past." At this, Ash snapped out of his shocked daze and remembered why he was here.

"Right. Well what I want to know is, how did you guys find the secret garden of the Latis?"

" That's easy kiddo, we followed you." said Oakley, and Ash got a cold feeling in his stomach.

"Oh yeah," she continued, "We saw you running after this girl on one of our gyrocams, and had it follow you. Eventually you lost the girl, but found that Latias in disguise. You followed her into the garden, and we followed you, simple as that." Ash couldn't believe it. He had led these two right to the soul dew.

_'I don't believe it, I'm the reason. If I had paid attention instead of being my old idiotic self, they would never have found the garden. Arceus, I'm the reason Latios is dead._

"Ash? Helloooo, earth to Ash," Annie called, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.

"Sorry about that," he apologized.

"What happened to you kid? You looked like you saw a ghost," said Oakley

"It's nothing." Before Oakley could retort, the door opened and revealed officer Jenny.

"Time's up kid," she said.

"Oh shoot, out of time already? Well, stay safe kid," said Oakley.

"And tell your mom we said hi," said Annie, and both girls hung up their phones.

"Come on Ash, I'll escort you out," said Officer Jenny, and walked off with Ash following behind her, his mind repeating one phrase the whole way.

_'I killed him, I killed him, I killed him,...'_

Espeon jumped out of Ash's mind. Looking at his trainer, he saw that Ash was huddled in corner, silently crying.

'Is that the reason?' he asked in a gentle voice.

"Yes it is," said Ash, his voice cracking from the sorrow, "I'm the reason her only family member died, I'm the reason she's alone. How can I face her, knowing what I've done to her. Soul mate or not, she'd hate me, and not only that, she'd become so devastated that nothing will stop her from suicide. I can't do that to her. She's better off without me. She's better off-." That was as far as Ash got before Espeon smashed into him, sending him to the ground. Ash tried to get up, but Espeon jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground.

'Don't say for another second that you're the reason' Espeon hissed, 'did you willingly lead those two to the garden? Did you!'

"Wha? No, I would never-."

'Then you're blaming yourself for a crime you did not commit. Just because you were there when something bad happened, and just because you could have prevented it, doesn't mean it's your fault! We all make mistakes Ash, and yes, someone died, but that does not make you the killer. You said you got Latios killed because those two followed you right?' demanded Espeon.

"Yes"

'Well then, following that logic it was in fact Latias that killed her own brother.'

"What! She would never do that."

'Oh? But isn't she the one who led you there in the first place. If she had done her job, she would have never led you to that place, but she did. Doesn't that put her at fault, hmm?' Ash didn't know what to say. Espeon was saying the truth, but the thought of Latias causing her own brother's demise was impossible to comprehend.

'I see you now understand. It was neither your nor Latias' fault for her brother's death. It was those two women and them alone.' Nodding his head, Ash made to get up, but Espeon still held him down.

'Now, you are going to go to Altomare. You will go to Latias and beg her for forgiveness for leaving her alone for so long. Now I know you still feel apprehensive about courting a pokemon, so you're going to take the relationship slow. You are going to date her, bring her flowers and chocolates, and all the other things males do to make a girl feel special. And most of all Ash, you are going to enjoy every second of it.' Espeon's face was now mere inches away from Ash's, and the glare he was giving was cold enough to make Ash's blood freeze.

'And Arceus forbid, should you dare try to run off or foist some excuse to try and get out of this, I will hurt you. Trainer or no, friend or no, I. Will. Hurt. You. I will make you scream. I will make you plead for mercy, and I will not stop, because no matter how much I hurt you, you've hurt Latias ten times worse than anything I could come up with, and that's saying something. Now, are we clear?' Too terrified to speak, Ash just barely managed to nod. Only then did Espeon get off of him, and let him rise.

'Good. Now pack your bags, we leave in the morning. No wait,' said Espeon, and he turned to look at Ash's bedside clock, which read seven in the evening. 'We leave immediately. Zapdos is fast enough to get us there by eleven. I'll tell Bianca get ready, oh and take some pokemon with you.' Ash, who had started packing the moment Espeon told him to, looked up.

"What for?"

'It's highly unlikely, but what would you do if another Latios came and tried courting Latias? You'd try to drive him off right? It would be pretty hard to do without your pokemon though, right?' Ash, seeing the sense in this, nodded.

'Good. Pick some powerful ones. Now I'll go get Bianca and tell your mother you're leaving to Altomare. And remember, run and you will suffer.' Nodding, Ash silently swore to himself to never piss off Espeon. Packing all that he would need, Ash thanked Arceus that he had agreed to get that summer home in Altomare, meaning no hotel expenses. After packing, Ash left for the professor's gardens to get his pokemon. His first choice was Pikachu, he never went anywhere without his starter. Second was Garchomp, seeing as Latios' are dragon types, packing another dragon type was generally a good idea. Third was Zapdos, obviously. Couldn't get to Altomare without him. Fourth was Floatzel, whose ice punch attack would seriously damage a Latios. Not to mention his counter shield technique would cause quite the surprise. Fifth was Espeon, because Ash had a sneaking suspicion that Espeon would want to come if only to make sure he didn't chicken out. And finally, Sceptile was sixth. Ash then went back home and grabbed his bags and waited for Bianca. He didn't have to wait long, Bianca came out with her bag, Espeon right behind her. Calling out Zapdos, Ash helped Bianca onto the thunderbird, and once he got on himself and called Espeon into his ball, had Zapdos take off. Bianca was feeling both terrified and exhilarated, Brock's Aerodactyl were nowhere near as fast as Zapdos, but then she noticed something.

"Ash." she called.

"Sorry Bianca, I know we're going extremely fast, but you'll have to bear with it."

"Ash." This time however, Ash knew what was going on. Checking the sun's position, he saw that he was going Southwest, not Southeast. Immediately he corrected that mistake.

"Better?" he asked Bianca.

"Much." And with that, the trip went by mostly in silence. Ash and Bianca got caught up, and as night fell, the ocean could be seen. What could also be seen however, was storm clouds, and they were heading straight towards them.

"Ash, you're not seriously going to fly through those, are you?"

"Sorry Bianca, but I've got to. Don't worry, Zapdos is built specifically to fly through storms, and should it get too bad, he can juice up his wings with enough power to cleave the storm in half, so just hold on tight." And Bianca did so not a moment too soon. The storm was horrible. Fast winds lashing at her body, threatening to grab her and throw her into the sea below. Rain pelting her from all sides, stinging her bare skin and soaking her clothes. She didn't know how long they were in the storm for, but she was grateful when it stopped. As soon as they left the storm, the lights of Altomare could be seen ahead. Gliding down, they found an abandoned pier they could use to land. As soon as they were on the ground, Ash got off and helped Bianca off of Zapdos. He then recalled the thunderbird, and searing pain erupted in his chest. Screaming in agony, Ash fell to one knee, clutching his chest.

"Oh Arceus, Ash are you all right?" Ash paid her no mind, he was too focused on the pain of the soul call. Staggering to his feet, Ash started to run. He didn't know where he was going nor did he care, his heart was guiding his legs to their destination. Another wave of pain shot through his chest, but it only gave him the encouragement to run even faster. Soon the brick walls were blurring past. Making another turn, Ash saw he had run to a dead end, only to pass straight through it and dash through a tunnel. Upon exiting, he was greeted by the sight of the secret garden, but he couldn't stop and enjoy the scenery, he had to find- There she was, by the fountain. As he ran towards her, he saw the object in her raised hand, ready to drive down into her and end her life. Like a demon possessed, Ash put everything he had into his legs, adrenaline accelerating him to olympic medalist speeds, praying to Arceus that he wouldn't be too late.

Latias just couldn't take it anymore. Seeing Ash, even if he was only on TV, had filled her with so much joy, but then the emptiness came back and she only felt worse.

_'No more,' _she thought while bringing out the knife she kept hidden in the garden. _'I can't take this anymore. It just hurts so much. Ash has probably forgotten about me, he probably has some beautiful girlfriend to dote on and doesn't even remember who I am anymore. I wish could have told him that day, the day he was leaving. I wish I could have told him that I loved him. Maybe then things could have been different.' R_aising the knife and lining it up for a lethal wound. _'Now all I want is for the pain to stop. I'm sorry Bianca, I'm sorry Lorenzo, but I just want it all to end. See you soon brother, father.' _Just as she was about to drive the knife into her chest, something slammed into her, making her fall to the ground and lose hold of the knife, which clattered and skidded on the stone floor. Infuriated at whoever stopped her from ending the pain once again. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock, for staring back into her own topaz orbs were a pair of eyes that she thought she would never see again. The eyes of Ash Ketchum.

**A/N**

**And that's a wrap people. Now who all saw that coming, like it, love it, hate it? R&R please, and check out the fanfiction challenge I have posted on my profile.**


	8. Chapter 7

"**Hi" **electric speech

"Hi" normal speech

_'Hi' _normal thoughts

'Hi' telepathy

**Chapter 7**

Latias was shocked into silence. She didn't make a sound, nor made a move, all she could do was stare.

"What... were... you... thinking?" Ash stuttered out between gasps of air, breaking Latias out of silence.

'I... I just wanted the pain to end.'

"And you... thought that... killing yourself... was the way... to do it?" Latias looked away, and nodded. Finally regaining his breath Ash brought Latias into a comforting embrace.

"What would killing yourself have accomplished? All you would have done was make everything worse. How would Bianca have felt? Or Lorenzo? All you would have done by killing yourself, was shift the pain to them, with interest."

'I thought you had forgotten me. I thought you no longer cared about me.'

"Latias, I would never forget you, and I'll always care about you." Now the full magnitude of the situation dawned on Latias.

'You're really here, aren't you Ash.' At this Ash smiled.

"That's right, and I'm not going anywhere this time." With that, Latias buried her face into Ash's shoulder and wept. All her pain, all her sorrow, all her solitude, all of it was let out. Ash himself could feel her pain through the soul call, and was shocked. He had known from Bianca that it was bad, but nothing could explain the sheer vastness of her pain. All he could do was hold her tighter, whisper comforting words to her, and lend her his shoulder to cry on. Eventually her sobs slowed, and her breathing became regular. Ash looked at her and found that she had cried herself to sleep. Gently setting her down so as to not disturb her, Ash slowly stroked his hand up and down Latias' neck, losing himself in the softness of her feathers. Getting up, he was greeted by the sight of Bianca, who was just entering the garden.

"What was that all about?" she asked while running up to him, "First you fall to the ground in pain for no reason, then you just take off like that?" Ash then started explaining the situation, first first the pain, then Latias' suicide attempt. When he was done, Bianca immediately glomped him.

"Thank you so much for stopping her," said Bianca.

"No need to thank me. There was no way I'd ever let her kill herself." After being released from Bianca's embrace, Ash walked over to the soul dew. Gazing into its blue vastness, he felt the sudden compulsion to touch it, which he ignored. Then the compulsion got stronger, like someone was telling him to touch it, but still he ignored it. Just as he was about to turn away, some weird force took control of him and laid his hand on the soul dew. Immediately after doing so, there was a flash of bright blue light, and then all went black.

When Ash opened his eyes, all he could see was a swirling void of blue. Looking around, he soon saw that everything around him was the same blue void.

"Where am I?" asked Ash out loud.

"You're in the soul dew," a voice answered, and in a flurry of blue sparks, materialized Latios.

"Latios? But, why am I in here?"

"I need to apologize for my earlier actions. You see, when I saw Latias take that knife earlier when she was helping Lorenzo in his woodshop, I tried to warn him, but I could only plant ideas into his head, like checking all his tools, but he completely ignored them. I couldn't do anything more than that because he is too old. The power my mind holds would have broken his own mind, and I wouldn't dare do that to him. Usually I would have then tried Bianca, but she was out of town at the time. This was when I got desperate. I continued to plant ideas into Lorenzo, but he disregarded them all, I could only watch in horror as he fell asleep, and I could no longer use him. Then I tried filling my sister's mind with doubt, making her question herself, but her convictions at the time were too strong for me to break. That's when I really got desperate. I tried reaching Bianca, wherever she may have been, but my mind could not leave the borders of Altomare no matter how hard I tried. I don't know how it happened, nor will I question it, but somehow, something gave me a massive boost in power, and allowed my mind to roam farther. I managed to find Bianca, but she had no means of getting back to Altomare in time to stop my sister. Then I sensed you. You were talking to your Espeon and he had just finished looking into your memories. I saw that he was helping you realize your feelings for my sister, and I would have been content with his gentle methods had the situation not been so dire. If he had gone with his methods, you would have asked for more time to think, time that I did not have. Then I heard you say how you were responsible for my death, and it infuriated me that you would blame yourself for something you had no fault in."

"So you don't blame me?" Asked Ash. It was a stupid question, but it was something that had been plaguing Ash for a long time.

"No, it was never your fault to begin with. Now, I then seized control over your Espeon, and made him say those things to you. Normally I would never have forced you like that, but I was getting more and more desperate since I couldn't see what Latias was doing. Still in control of your Espeon, I convinced Bianca to get her things ready, and released control of Espeon when you returned him. Following you back to Altomare, I could only pray and hope that my sister hadn't killed herself yet. When you got there, and fell to the ground in pain from the soul call, I feared the worst. I took control of your body and rushed you to the garden. Just as you entered the garden however, I had used up all the power I had, and my mind was sucked back into the soul dew. I'm so very sorry for rushing you into this, Ash, but I had to stop my sister." Silence filled the void. Nobody moved nor spoke. Finally, Ash broke the silence.

"Did you have to threaten me like that? Did you have to shove me into a relationship like that? I don't want to pursue a forced relationship, even if it is with my soul mate. The knowledge that I had been forced would have driven me and Latias apart, violently no doubt, and destroyed her, and would have been all your fault."

"Ash please, you must understand-" Latios began, but was cut off from finishing.

"Understand nothing! I was about to resent my best friend for something he didn't even do. Did you even think it through when you demanded I enter a relationship with your sister, well did you! You even threatened me with my life back there. Granted, Latias was attempting suicide, but did you still have to threaten me? You could've told me what was going on, I would've come, but you actually threatened a friend. Why should I help you? Why should I pursue your sister? After all you've done, give me one good reason why I should do this?"

Latios remained silent, he had really screwed up this time. Ash was looking for a way out when heard Latios mumble something.

"Care to repeat that, I didn't quite catch it." Ash coldly responded. Turning to face Latios, he was surprised to see the dragon crying.

"I said my sister's happiness," Latios said. Ash was about to remark, but Latios wasn't finished.

"The soul dew is not only some mystical gem that keeps Altomare's water levels in check. It is in fact a spiritual prison. It binds my soul to Altomare's water and slowly siphons my spirit's energy into it until I cease to exist. When I'm gone I will not pass on, nor will I reincarnate. I will be gone forever Ash. It will take decades, but I will eventually disappear. Amongst my kind this is considered the most noble sacrifice one can make due to the nature of the soul dew. When I enclosed my soul into it I knew the consequences, but I had to save Altomare. The thing is though Ash, Latias did not take my death well. She wept for days on end, while I watched from within the gem. I could leave the soul dew, but I couldn't interact with the outside world. All the times my sister cried for me, I couldn't comfort her. Every time she awoke from a nightmare I couldn't be there for her. All I could do, was watch. I watched as my sister lost everything I loved about her. First she lost her smile, that beautiful playful smile, and replaced it with some cheap grin to hide her emotions from Bianca. Then she stopped wearing that."

Latios was pouring tears now.

"Next she lost her playfulness. She no longer pranked, she no longer watched the Tour de Altomare and helped the racers, and she no longer laughed. She became withdrawn and no longer had that air of cheer around her. I thought it was bad, but the worst had yet to come. The last thing she lost was her will. She started drinking, she became suicidal, and she had ceased to care. For seven years I watched my sister become something I never imagined. I can't even call it a shadow of her former self, it was beyond even that. No matter how hard I cried out to her, she couldn't hear me. No matter how much I tried I couldn't touch her. I couldn't bring her here, in fact, the only reason I can do that with you now is because of that power boost earlier. All I could do, was watch as she fell into absolute despair."

Latios' cheeks were soaked, and his eyes reddened and puffy.

"But I could still hear her. Every night for seven years, she spoke in her sleep, always calling out, but not for me, for you Ash. She would always plead for you to return, to at least visit. Then one day, she told me she loved you. Of course, she was just rambling to the soul dew, but I could still hear her. This surprised me, and I was against the idea at first, but then I no longer cared. If you could bring back the ball of sunshine that was my sister, I would gladly let you have her. Then this whole opportunity came up, and I had to take it, for my sister's sake. So tell me Ash, is it a crime to do whatever you can to help a loved one? If you had one chance to help the one person you loved most in this world, would you take it, even if it meant ruining every friendship you've made?"

Ash had no response to that. He had no idea of the full spectrum of Latias' despair till now.

_'He had to watch it all happen and could do nothing to stop it.'_ Then Latios did something that shocked Ash to the core. He floated up to Ash and dipped his head to Ash's feet, his version of a bow. Being trained by a dragon master, Ash knew all about dragon behaviour, and to bow was considered the ultimate wound to a dragon's pride. The only reasons a dragon would bow was either it was absolutely defeated in combat, and would bow in submission, or it was so desperate for something that it was willing to smash it's pride to bits, and as his grandfather always said, a dragon's pride is his most guarded treasure.

"Please Ash, please help my sister. You're the only one who can bring her back now. Lorenzo and Bianca can only fill the role of friendship, only you can ascend higher. I will not force this on you. Whatever your choice, I will respect it. All I ask is that you at least give it a chance. I just want my sister to be happy again. And if you can't, if I have destroyed the only chance she has with you, then I understand. I have only myself to blame, and the next time she tries to kill herself, I will not stop her. I just have one request, should she die by her own hand, convince the townspeople of Altomare to evacuate. How you do it doesn't concern me, and when they are all gone, smash the soul dew so that I may be with my sister again. The only reason she has been attempting suicide this past while is the belief that she will be reunited with me upon death. Should she learn that's not the case, she will lose the last piece of herself she has left, her hope. All her hopes will be shattered if I'm not there for her in the afterlife, and I cannot possibly do that to her. Will you do this for me Ash?" begged Latios, and he gazed up at Ash. Ash could not speak, he was to shocked that Latios would grind his pride to dust not only by bowing, but by begging as well.

_'If I smash the soul dew Altomare will be destroyed. Can I condemn an entire town? No wait, that's why he wants me to evacuate everyone first. Altomare can be rebuilt, but life can't be replaced.'_

"I'll do it," said Ash, and Latios visibly relaxed. Raising his head, Latios smiled at Ash.

"Thank you Ash, I am forever in your debt." and with that, Ash was blinded by a brilliant flash of light, and darkness consumed all.

Ash's eyes shot open and his hand immediately left the soul dew. Turning, he saw Bianca staring at him strangely.

"What happened?" asked Ash.

"I don't know. One second you touch the soul dew, and the next you flinch back like you were burned." Bianca responded.

_'So no time passed, huh.'_

"Anyways, it's getting late. I'm heading home to bed. Want me to set up a room for you?"

"No thanks, I'll sleep out here. Besides, I should be here for Latias when she wakes up."

"All right, suit yourself." said Bianca, and headed home. Letting out a tired yawn, Ash went to unpack his sleeping bag, only to remember he had left his things where they had landed. With a tired sigh, Ash called out Espeon. When the sun pokemon materialized, he started looking around frantically until he saw his trainer.

'Ash! Oh Arceus Ash, I am so sorry. I wasn't in control of myself when I said those things, you have to believe me. I would never, ever threaten you like that.'

"Whoa buddy, it's okay, I believe you. I talked to the one who possessed you."

'Where is he! I'll make him pay in blood for this! No one makes me threaten my own friend and master like that and lives! I'll make him pay, I'll rip him apart bit by bit, until he begs for mercy, then I'll flay him alive! The nerve, forcing you into a relationship like that, knowing full well how apprehensive you are about it! Why I oughta-'

"Whoa, whoa Espeon, he had a good reason for doing what he did." _'Note to self, still can't piss off Espeon. Possessed or not, he's scary when he's mad.' _Espeon glared at Ash.

'And what reason could possibly justify threatening you like that?'

"How about the fact that my soul mate was about to commit suicide, and threatening me like that was the only way to get me here on time to stop her." At this, Espeon deflated somewhat.

'Fine, I can relent to that, but that does not excuse him for forcing you into a relationship like that.'

"He thought he was doing the right thing at the time. Don't worry I set him straight."

'Fine, so what do you need of me?'

"I need you to sniff out the way to my bag, I left it where Zapdos landed, and since I'm no good with directions and this entire town is a maze, I'm gonna need some help." Espeon said nothing and pointed his tail to the right. Ash looked in the indicated direction and saw his bag sitting beside the tunnel entrance.

"Well duh," said Ash, and he smacked his forehead. "Of course Bianca would bring it with her. Arceus, I'm such an idiot."

'By the way Ash, who was it that possessed me?'

"it was Latias' twin brother Latios, and no, you can't kill him. He's already dead."

'Well darn, but if that's the case how's he still around?' Pulling his sleeping bag out of his bag, Ash pointed to the stone fountain in the center of the garden.

"In that fountain lies a gem called the soul dew. All water in Altomare is regulated by it. Latios' soul is bound within it and is slowly being drained of all his spiritual energy, thus eradicating him from existence." Upon hearing that, Espeon winced.

'Okay, I may hate his guts right now, but I would never wish that fate on anybody.'

"Yeah, well it was either that, or the deaths of hundreds of innocents." Ash replied, as he set his sleeping bag down beside the sleeping dragoness.

'So, have you decided what you're going to do? I mean, you were forced into this after all. I just want you to be happy Ash, and I'm not sure you can be knowing you were forced into something you weren't ready to commit to.'

"No, I was never forced. Latios only threatened me like that to get me to Altomare in time to save his sister. He told me himself, it was my choice and he would respect my decision."

'And? Have you made your decision?'

"I have," said Ash as he laid down beside Latias, "I've decided I'm going to give this relationship a shot. I know she loves me, deeply so, but I just don't feel the same way. So I'm going to pursue her, to see if I honestly do love her, not because we're spiritually connected, but rather just for being her."

'Then I am glad Ash. You have thrown away all doubt with this decision, and only happiness can come from it.'

"Well, if you don't mind buddy, it's late, and I'd like to get some sleep." With that, Ash recalled Espeon back into his ball. Putting the ball back into his travel bag, Ash soon let the comfort of sleep soothe his tired body.

**A/N**

**And that's a wrap people. Okay, I seriously thought you all would see this coming. I thought I made it obvious, but only one person got it, and that was after I dropped him a massive hint. Yeesh. Anywho, like it, love it, hate it?R&R please, oh and I want to if Latios made you cry. Come on people, I stayed up all night working on this, shed a few tears.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Before we get started, a bunch of you reviewers have pointed out a very glaring flaw in my fanfic. And that flaw is... OMG, I'M NEGLECTING PIKACHU! Holy crap I really am. I never intended to shunt off Ash's number one partner, it's just that most of the conversations were going on telepathically between Ash and either Espeon, Latias, or Latios, meaning Pikachu had nothing to contribute to the conversations because he couldn't hear them. Now I know that I could have still thrown Pikachu in there somewhere, so to all readers, sorry for neglecting the mouse, and now that all the major telepathy conversations are over and done with, Pikachu is getting more screen time. Now then some individual reviews that that I wanted to address individually.**

**Mijumaruwott: Well I wasn't trying to make the Latios part funny, but I'm glad you got a kick out of Espeon. Oh, and I'll take that beta reader offer of yours thank you, it'll do wonders for my grammar. You'll have to give me instructions on how to send you the chapters.**

**No original name to use: Thank you for that spectacular display of concrit. It was extremely appreciated, though I do have some things to say about it. First off, you misread chapter 3.2, Drake is Ash's _grand_father. You might have got confused with him being Ash's father, rather than Delia's, like he's supposed to be. Secondly, in your next review, may I ask you to give the names of the characters you thought were OOC, and why you thought they were. It would be much appreciated. Other than that I loved that review.**

**Kyu-chan: Or, I could use a method absolutely nobody uses. Accelerate the rate Latias' body is aging, thereby making her live the same length of time Ash will. Word of advice, while your idea was good, it was used too often in other stories. If you want to contribute ideas, please feel free. The best fanfictions are the ones that the readers can openly contribute to, but the ideas have to be both original, and unpredictable. I want this fic to constantly keep the readers on their toes after all.**

**Now then the moment you've all been waiting for. Let the story continue.**

"**Hi"**- electric speech

"Hi"- normal speech

'Hi'- Telepathy

_'Hi'_- normal thoughts

**Chapter 8**

The morning sun rose over the ocean horizon, giving the tranquil waters a beautiful azure glow. Morning's light seeped into the city of Altomare, awakening its citizens to a new day. The Pidgeys started chirping, the Yanmas started to softly hum, the Poliwags swam through the pools, adding the sound of splashing water to the natural symphony. The combination of nature's orchestra, and the ever brightening sunlight, roused Latias from her slumber. Tiredly rubbing her eyes, which had become gunky due to all the crying she did last night. After washing her face in the fountain, she saw Ash still sleeping on the ground. Pikachu was sprawled over his bag and was also snoozing away, his occasionally twitching foot indicating he was dreaming. Then she heard a groan from Ash, and saw him getting up. Latias giggled to herself, and floated down to him. Ash was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, when he felt something soft rub against his side, and looked to see Latias' golden eyes gazing back up into his own.

'Good morning,Ash,' she said softly. Ash smiled,

"Good morning, Latias. Sleep well?"

'Better than I have in a long time.' she replied, and settled down on the ground while continuing to rub her head against Ash's side. Ash began to stroke her neck, loving how soft she was. The two remained like that for some time, then Ash's stomach began to growl. Ash went red in embarrassment, and Latias laughed.

"Maybe we should head to Bianca's house for breakfast?" she offered. Nodding in agreement Ash went and woke up Pikachu, who leaped onto Ash's shoulder. Then he packed his sleeping bag and threw on the hat of his suit. Then he grabbed his travel bag and looked over to Latias, who was gazing at the soul dew.

"You really miss him, huh." said Ash. Latias nodded.

"Well what if I told you he's in the soul dew right now?" At this, Latias flinched back in shock.

"You can't see nor hear him because he's dead, but even in death, he's still by your side."

'Is he really still here?' Latias asked desperately.

"Yes he is. You can talk to him, he'll hear it, but he just can't say anything back. But the one thing I know for sure is that he'll always make sure you're safe." Smiling, Latias embraced Ash

'Thank you for telling me this,' she said, and let go of Ash. Smiling, Ash stared at the soul dew, only to realize he had one thing left to say to Latias.

_'Let us pray she doesn't panic,' _

"Latias, there's one last thing I have to tell you." Immediately, Latias' attention was completely fixed on him, "Now I want you to hold all your questions and reactions in until I'm finished, can you do that?" At Latias' nod he continued,

"Well, you see Latias I... I know how you feel about me, and I have to say that I don't feel the same way." Ash could see the shock and despair in Latias' eyes.

'You don't?'

"No, at least, not yet I don't, but I am willing. I want to make sure I love you not because we're soul mates, but rather just for being who you are. I want to take this relationship slowly, We'll date, we'll take walks together, and all the stuff a couple does, but I want to make absolutely certain that I can love you with my heart Latias, not just my soul. Can you do that?" Visibly relaxing in relief, Latias nodded her assent.

"**Well that went better than I thought." **said Pikachu.

"**No doubt buddy. I thought she was gonna freak for a second there." **Ash replied. Heading to the tunnel, Ash saw that Latias wasn't following.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked her

'I can't,' she replied sadly, and showed Ash her arm, which had a black band around it. Taking a close look at it, Ash saw what it was.

'It locks me in the garden, and only Bianca or Lorenzo can take it off, its impossible for-' That was as far as she got, when she heard a short zap and a click, and Ash was taking the device off her arm.

'How did you do that?' asked a very shocked Latias.

"Simple, it was made by Devon. I was their field tester, and I know how to hack, override, and disassemble pretty much anything they make. I just simply lifted this panel here," said Ash, and showed her the the indicated panel, "and sent a small burst of electricity into the circuitry to overload the system and release the lock mechanism, simple as that. Now let's go, I'm starving and I'm really looking forward to a good breakfast." Nodding, Latias followed Ash out of the garden, turning invisible when they exited the tunnel.

'When we get there, don't tell them I'm with you. I want to surprise them.'

"Just don't give Lorenzo a heart attack. He's getting on in years you know." Ash replied jokingly, which made Latias giggle. The two made their way to Bianca's house, Latias giving Ash directions through the maze-like streets. Upon reaching Bianca's house, Ash knocked on the door, and it opened up to reveal Bianca.

"Hi Ash," she said happily. Then she felt a rush of air whoosh above her, but disregarded it as the wind. "How's Latias doing?"

"Much better, I don't think she'll be making any attempts on her own life any time soon."

"That's a relief,well come on in. I'm making breakfast and grandpa's working at the museum, but he'll be back soon." Ash stepped inside and closed the door behind him and Bianca turned around to go back into the kitchen, and bumped right into a fully visible Latias.

'Boo.'

"Whoa!" screamed Bianca, and tripping over own feet in surprise, fell on her back. Ash and Pikachu were holding their sides in laughter, and Latias was also laughing.

"L-La-Latias! What are you doing here? How are you here? Nobody could take that device off you."

"Nobody save the person who helped design it. I figured it was no longer necessary." said Ash. Then Bianca realized something.

"Latias, you're laughing, you're actually laughing. And you pranked, Ash, what did you do? You did in one night what Grandfather and I have been trying to do for seven years."

"I think Latias can answer that question better than I can." At this Latias got very hesitant, unsure of what to say. Ash saw her predicament, having gone through the same thing.

"Latias don't worry," Ash said in a comforting voice, "she's your best friend, she'll understand. It will take a lot more than that to make her leave you." Bianca had no idea what Ash was talking about, but whatever it was, it made Latias much less hesitant.

'Well... you see... the truth is...,' she began, then took a deep breath, and let it all out, 'the truth is Bianca, I love him. I have for the longest time. At first I thought it was just a silly crush I had, but as the years went by I realized I truly loved him, and as time went by I was filled with more and more despair than ever. Now that he's back, I no longer feel empty and alone. He's even agreed to pursue a relationship with me. That's why I'm so happy, I'm finally living my dream.' Bianca was very shocked at this. She had no idea that Latias felt that way about Ash.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she questioned.

'I thought you have been revolted by it. I didn't want to lose the only friend I have.'

"Latias, I'm your best friend. I don't care if you love a human, that's your choice and I'll stick with you despite it." Latias wrapped her friend in a warm embrace, conveying her silent gratitude to her friend. Ash smiled, that had reminded him of his conversation with Brock. After the two girls separated, Bianca returned to the kitchen to make breakfast, and Ash lied down on the couch, Pikachu hopping off his shoulder to laze on the armrest. A thought suddenly occurred to Latias.

'Ash, I've been meaning to ask, what made you come back? Not that I'm complaining, but I'm just curious as to why now.'

"Well, the reason is that I got threatened by your brother, who was in a possessed body at the time. He threatened to inflict excruciating pain on me should I not come back and start a relationship with you." At this Latias became infuriated.

'How dare he! I mean, I love you being here and all, and I'm thankful that you came and stopped me from killing myself, but I would not want to be in a relationship, even with you, if it was forced.'

"You know, I kinda told him the same thing last night. But Latias you got to remember that you were planning suicide at the time. Latios had tried stopping it in his usual ways, but it wasn't working. Eventually the only way to stop you was to bring me here, so he threatened me like that to make sure I came fast enough to stop you, he was that desperate." Still not totally calmed, Latias floated down beside Ash, stewing in her anger, until Ash started to absentmindedly stroke her neck, which started to replace the anger with a sense of comfort. The two stayed like that until Pikachu said something in poke-speech, which made Latias blush. Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What he say?"

'He said, If this is how we're going to act around each other, then we might as well be mates already.' Latias replied. Annoyed, Ash smacked Pikachu off the armrest with his hat, sending the mouse to the floor. Pikachu jumped back on the armrest and said something else to Latias, who nodded.

'Ash, Pikachu said even without brother forcing you here, you still would have come eventually, why?'

"Well, ever since a really good friend of mine figured out that you and I were soul mates, he's been gently guiding and pushing me to pursue a relationship with you."

'I'd like to meet him, he sounds nice.' Taking a pokeball off his belt, Ash called out his Espeon, who materialized in a flash of white light.

'Hello, Latias.' said Espeon, and soon the two were engaged in a telepathic conversation. Ash was included, but he mostly tuned them out. Eventually Espeon slinked into the kitchen, drawn by the smell of frying eggs, bacon, and sausage.

'Well he was very nice, though what's with him and his desire for your happiness?'

"In order for me to answer that, I have to tell you how Espeon came into my possession, which is something that he doesn't like to talk about."

'It's alright Ash, you can tell her.' Espeon's telepathic voice resonated within his mind.

"Well, he says I can tell you. I got him when he was just an Eevee as a gift from my grandfather. I don't know what region Espeon is from since he never knew the name of it himself. All he knew was that his home was by the sea. He wasn't well liked by the other kits because he was... well lets say different. He was a lot stronger than them and that made them jealous. One day, they were playing by a coastal shipping station, and one of the other Eevees asked him to see what was going on. So, Espeon went and checked, but one of the Eevees pushed him off the ledge he was standing on, and into a crate. Before he could get back out, the crate was closed and sealed, trapping him inside. Then he was loaded on a boat and cast out to sea. He was trapped inside that crate for three weeks, being loaded from one ship to another, surviving solely by drinking sea water that leaked into the crate from storms and waves. He told me it had tasted horrible, but he was too desperate and thirsty to care. Eventually, the crate he was in made it onto my grandfather's ship, and while an entire cargo inventory was being taken due to a mislabeling of one of the crates, they found him, emaciated and half dead. Immediately they tried nursing him back to health, but he was extremely frightened, being in a strange place far from home and not having been shown any kindness by others save his family, and as such had desperately tried to crawl away, but his body was too weak to move. Eventually my grandfather and his crew managed to get him to trust them enough for them to feed him, but that was as far as they got. When he was strong enough to move, he immediately hid himself in a small cubby below deck, and refused to come out for anything except food and relieving himself. When I was training with my grandfather on the ways of dragon pokemon, I met Espeon. Of course he hid away from me the first chance he got, but every day I would show him some kindness, A small petting one day, a scratching behind the ear another. Eventually he started following me around the ship, but whenever someone came too close, he would always dash away and hide. On my seventeenth birthday, grandfather gave him to me as a present, and we've been together ever since. I showered him with kindness, and when he evolved and learned telepathy, he thanked me immensely for all the happiness I had given him, and promised to return that happiness to me a hundred fold. So that's pretty much why." Latias was shocked. She would never have guessed that the confident, proud and kind Espeon she had talked to had gone through something so terrifying, and had managed to stay sane through it all. She was about to convey this to Ash when they heard Bianca's shout.

"Hey! Get back here you little snitch!" she screamed , as she dashed after Espeon, a large sausage in his mouth. Latias watched the chase for a bit then went back to the conversation.

'It's amazing he stayed sane through that ordeal. I would have lost my mind if I were in his position.'

"Yeah, well he didn't get out of that completely unscathed. He developed-"

"Aha! Got you, you little thief!" shouted Bianca. She had cornered Espeon and had an empty wooden fruit box raised over her head. Espeon stood stock still, a look of absolute terror in his eyes.

"Bianca, stop!" Ash screamed, but Bianca brought the box down, and trapped the sun pokemon in it. Immediately, Espeon started thrashing around within the box, desperately trying to get free.

"Uh-uh, you're not coming out until-" That was as far as Bianca got before the box exploded from a psychic pulse, sending Bianca flying across the room. Now free, Espeon dashed under a small coffee table tucked in a corner of the room. Espeon huddled under it, hyperventilating and shivering in fright, his eyes wide and panicked. Ash immediately dashed over to his terrified friend and wrapped him in a protecting embrace.

"It's okay, Espeon, it's okay. You're not trapped, you're free." Ash whispered this and other words of comfort to his distressed pokemon.

'So dark..., couldn't get out..., trapped again...' Was the telepathic message, broken and static due to the terror gripping his mind. Eventually Ash managed to calm Espeon down, and picked him up and brought him to the couch. Espeon had stopped shivering, and no longer held that panicked look in his eyes, but he was still heavily breathing, and pressed himself close to Ash.

"Oooh, what happened?" Bianca groaned as she wobbled back up on her feet. When she brought her eyes up, she saw Ash glaring at her with a look of pure fury.

"Bianca," said Ash, his voice dripping with malice, "never do that to Espeon again. I was just telling Latias that he has extreme claustrophobia. Now, since you didn't know I'll forgive you this once, however, you will never, ever threaten or even joke about trapping him like that again. Are we clear?" Bianca nodded, having never seen Ash this angry before.

"Good, now I think you should get back in the kitchen, I smell something burning." Bianca understood what Ash really wanted, and retreated into the kitchen. Latias looked at the scene in confusion.

'Did you really have to be so harsh on Bianca? She had no idea.' Then she noticed Pikachu hovering close to Espeon, who was still hyperventilating, looking ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

'Ash, what's going on with Espeon? Why is Pikachu acting like something bad is going to happen?'

"You see Latias, this happened once before when Espeon was still an Eevee. We were training at Devon with the company president, and a large metal crate fell off a rack, and trapped him inside it. When we managed to get it off of him, he was lying on the ground, and he wasn't breathing. I checked his pulse, and it was insanely erratic, and then it stopped altogether. Pikachu managed to restart his heart by acting as a defibrillator. Espeon, at the time, was dead for fifteen seconds. He had suffered a heart attack from sheer terror. That's why I was so angry with Bianca, she could have killed him." Latias was horrified by what she heard. Bianca had done more than just freak Espeon out, she could have very well killed him. Bianca, who was listening in from the kitchen, was mortified by what she had done. She had no idea she had done something that could have killed Espeon. Eventually, the sun pokemon had regulated his breathing to normal levels, and was no longer hyperventilating, however, when Bianca brought the food out, Espeon was constantly shying away from her should she get too close. After breakfast was done, Bianca walked up to Espeon, but his eyes widened in fear and he backed away.

'No, please, stay away, don't trap me again, no please, no!' Espeon pleaded as Bianca continued to approach. When Espeon had backed himself into a wall, Bianca knelt down and embraced the distressed pokemon.

"I'm so sorry," she said,her voice cracking with sorrow, "I had no idea that you were so claustrophobic. If I had known I would never have done that to you. Can you forgive me?" Espeon hesitated for a bit, his body rigid and tight, then he slowly relaxed.

'I forgive you.' he said, and leaned into her embrace, rubbing his head against her cheek. Bianca stayed like that for a while, reveling in the velvet-like softness of Espeon's fur, and then separated from the pokemon. As she got back up Espeon circled around her once, rubbing his body against her legs, then returned to Ash's side.

"Well, it appears he's forgiven you, Bianca." said Ash, and with that he and his pokemon headed out the door, Latias once more turning invisible. When they left Bianca's house, they started heading through the maze-like streets, looking for a certain building.

'Where are we going Ash?' asked Latias.

"To the summer home I own here." was Ash's reply. Soon they came to a medium sized, two story house overlooking the ocean on a rocky cliff.

'Ooh, that looks nice. And it's all yours?' asked Latias.

"One of the perks of being in the elite four, the pay is incredible." replied Ash, and the group made their way to the house.

"Is that the sound of dirt I hear?" asked a female voice.

"It's shrieking at me, loud and clear." replied a male voice.

"On the cupboards," said the female, as she dusted the kitchen cupboards and shelves.

"Past the porch," said the male, as he swept the backyard porch.

"In yer ears," said an accented voice belonging to a cat pokemon, who had just finished cleaning the chimney.

"Bringing cleanliness at a breakneck pace," said the female, while finishing the last bathroom.

"Dashing filth, putting sanitation in its place." said the male as he finished the dishes.

"Floor cleaner by any other name smells just as sweet," said the female as she finished the living room floor.

"When everything's spotless our work is complete," said the male as he finished wiping the windows.

"Jessie," said the now identified Jessie, as she slid into the main hall from the living room.

"James," said the now identified James, as he slid in beside Jessie from the kitchen.

"Meowth, now dere's a name," said the now identified Meowth as he leaped over the two humans and landed in between them.

"Putting the dust bunearies in their place," said Jessie.

"We're Team Rocket," said James.

"And we're cleaning the place!" chorused all three.

"Woooooobuffet!" shouted out the Wobuffet that appeared behind Jessie.

"Mime, Mime." said the Mime jr. that appeared behind James. Then with their signature motto done with, and the house spotless, the three lounged on the couch.

"Isn't this the life Jessie?" asked James. "When Team Rocket got put in the pokey, I thought for sure it was the end."

"No food, no cash, and no job, we had hit rock bottom big time." replied Jessie

"But den za boss foinds us, and offers us a deal." piped in Meowth. "We woik as caretakes for his new summa house, and as long as we keeps the place maintained, we gots it all to ourselves when he's not usin it."

"Not to mention we're getting paid premium rates, much better than Team Rocket's salary. Not to mention the servant's quarters are quite posh." said James.

"And we're in Altomare to boot. Now I can hit the beach whenever I want, and all those hunky men will fawn over my beauty." Jessie spoke up. Meowth meanwhile, looked out the window, and was shocked to see a very familiar someone coming towards the house.

"Guys," shouted Meowth, "da boss iz here!"

**And that's a wrap people. MWAHAHAHA, another heart wrencher, I'm on a roll with those. Man, first Latias, then Latios, now Espeon. So, like it, love it, hate it? R&R please.**


	10. Chapter 9

"Hi"- normal speech

"**Hi"**- electric speech

'Hi'- telepathy

_'Hi'_- normal thoughts

**Chapter 9**

Ash opened the door to his summer house, and was met by his former pursuers.

"Welcome boss," said Jessie, "How are you doing this fine morning."

"Very well Jessie. May I enter?"

"But of course." Once Ash, Latias (who was still invisible), Pikachu and Espeon were inside, Ash closed the door. Striding into the living room, he flopped down on the couch, Latias floating down beside him, while Espeon lied down on the floor beside the couch, and Pikachu taking the armrest above Ash's head.

"Anything we can do for you, boss?" asked James.

"No thank you, James. In fact, since I don't really need anything from you three at this time, why don't you all take the day off. By the looks of things, you've been keeping this place well kept, so it's the least I could do to thank you."

"Oh, thank you boss. Jessie, Meowth, we've got the day off." At this, a girlish squeal rang through the house, and Jessie shot out the door at high speeds, beach supplies in hand.

"Come on Meowth, there's a huge bazaar sale down at the markets, let's go." yelled James.

"Right behind ya, Jimmie." replied Meowth, and the two headed off to the Altomare market district, leaving Ash and his group alone. Once the coast was clear, Latias once again became visible.

"You know, you didn't have to stay invisible." said Ash.

'Still, what would happen if they let slip that they saw me? Trainers all around would come hunting around for me, and eventually someone's going to get lucky and find the garden and me. The way I see it, the less people know about me, the better.' Ash couldn't fault her there.

'I have to agree with her Ash,' Espeon piped up, ' I believe it's best if Latias' existence is kept on a need to know basis. We don't want anyone capturing her now, not to mention the soul dew.' Ash nodded, he didn't want another armageddon wave on his hands, and he seriously doubted Latias could stop one on her own.

"All right, we won't let anyone know except those we can trust." The rest of the morning passed by in comfortable silence, but soon everyone started to get bored. Nothing good was on TV, and there wasn't anything really entertaining to do in the house. Finally, Ash broke the silence.

"All right, I don't know about you guys, but I am bored. Anybody got any ideas?"

'Shopping?' provided Latias.

'No way, I've seen the way women go shopping and I'd rather be in... no, I'd rather be a woman's pack mule than go back in my ball.' At this, Espeon shivered a bit.

"We could just walk around town. Maybe we could check out the museum."

"**I'm with you Ash. A day out on the town'll be great." **said Pikachu.

'I'd like that too. I've been holed up in the garden for so long that I'd love to see the city again.' Latias replied.

"Well then I guess that settles it. Let's hit the town guys." Leaping up off the couch, Ash headed out the door, the pokemon not far behind. After locking up, they headed out into the busy morning streets of Altomare. Soon they wound up in the market district, much to Latias' (who had taken her human form) delight. They went from stall to stall, checking out what was on sale. Ash mostly checked the trainer wares, while Latias preferred the jewelery. Eventually the group came to the docks, and Ash recognized a very familiar ship in the port.

"Well paint me pink and call me Mew, that old sea dragon is here. Hey Latias, would you like to meet a member of the family?" Latias was surprised that Ash had a relative in Altomare.

'Sure, who is it?'

"It's my grandfather, Drake." Ash replied, and headed to the seaside tavern by the dock. Latias started to get nervous.

'Are you sure we should go in there? It looks really seedy.'

"Don't worry, just stay close to me and you'll be fine. I've been in worse looking places, and I can tell you, this one looks to be one of the more friendlier places." Doing as she was told, Latias stayed close to Ash's side as they entered. The inside of the tavern was dimly lit while the smell of sweat, tobacco, and cheap booze hung heavy in the air. Looking around, Ash immediately spotted the person he was looking for. As he walked up to the table his grandfather sat at, he noticed the stares and lecherous grins the other patrons were giving Latias. Finally he reached the table and sat down in front of the man, Latias taking the seat beside Ash.

"Hello gramps." said Ash.

"Well ahoy to you too boy. I see you haven't forgotten this old sea dragon. So what brings you to Altomare?" replied Drake.

"Well lets just say an old friend needed me. So I rushed over."

"I see now. And who is this fine young lady?"

'Ash, introduce me as Amy, Bianca's twin sister.' Latias telepathed.

"This is Amy. She's the twin sister of Bianca, who happens to be a good friend of mine."

"Pleasure to meet you, lass." Latias giggled.

"Unfortunately gramps, she can't speak. Don't know why, but she never could." said Ash, having seen his grandfather's puzzled look.

"Well that's a shame, my condolences. So Ash, how's your training coming along. You entered the master's tournament yet?"

"Actually grandfather, I didn't even enter."

"What! All that training and you throw it away!"

"Gramps let me finish. The reason I didn't compete was because I got accepted into the elite four." This piece of news startled Drake. He didn't know that had happened.

"What member are you?" he asked.

"Final." was the reply, and Drake's jaw hit the table.

"What type do you use?"

"Electric."This was no surprise to Drake. He knew that Ash would never go into any major fight without his Pikachu.

"Well now my boy, this calls for a celebration. Bartender! Get us two shot glasses, and a bottle of dragon ale." Once the glasses and drink had been delivered, Ash immediately poured himself a shot.

"Man, thanks gramps. I just ran out recently." and then poured Drake his shot.

"**Ash, what have I told you about drinking that stuff. I swear it's gonna kill you." **said Pikachu.

'What's dragon ale?' asked Latias.

_'Dragon ale is a type of alcoholic beverage made from distilled haban and babiri berries.' _Ash replied in thought. He then downed his shot in one gulp, then he took a metal flask out of his bag and proceeded to fill it from the bottle. Just as he finished filling the flask, some of the alcohol spilled out. As soon as the liquid hit the table, it made a fierce hissing sound, like a hot pan under cold water. After a few seconds, the hissing was reduced down to a moderate fizzing, like soda. Latias stared wide eyed at the spilt liquid, while Pikachu was giving her a 'see what I mean' look. After Ash and Drake finished the bottle, Ash said his goodbyes to his grandfather and he and Latias left the tavern. Checking the clock tower it was twelve thirty, and a loud grumble escaped Ash's stomach.

"Who's up for lunch?" Ash asked, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

'Lunch sounds good.' said Espeon. Pikachu and Latias also nodded their assent.

"Know any good restaurants around here, Latias?" asked Ash.

'There's a store that sells sandwiches and other lunch foods nearby, this way.' said Latias, and led the group to the store. After a few minutes of running, they came to a small stand that sold a variety of salads, pizzas, sandwiches, and other such lunch meals. Ash was about to head over to get his lunch, but before he could take a single step, two very soft mounds started pressing against the back of his head, and a pair of arms wrapped around his neck.

"Hello Ash," said a seductive voice, "long time no see." Realizing just what he was pressed up against, Ash started blushing crimson.

"Hello Cynthia." said Ash, trying his best to ignore the woman's quite prominent assets pushing against his head.

"So Ash, we haven't seen each other since you came for training in Sinnoh, I was thinking we could go back to my hotel room and 'catch up', hmm?" Ash had to force his blush down before he got a nosebleed.

"Actually Cynthia, I was just going to grab some lunch and then head over to the museum." He said nervously.

"Ooh, why don't I get lunch with you, hmm?" said Cynthia, tightening her hold on Ash and pushing her chest a bit harder on him. Meanwhile, Latias was glaring daggers at Cynthia, and grinding her teeth in fury.

_'That hussy. Who does she think she is, seducing my Ash like that. Oh she's going to pay.' _While Latias plotted her payback, Cynthia had drug Ash over to the lunch kiosk.

"I'll take a Reuben sandwich, A fish salad wrap for Amy, and two cans of pokechow please." Said Ash.

"And I'll take...hmm...hmm...maybe that...or perhaps that...hmm."

"You might want to do my order while you wait. Cynthia usually never makes snap decisions outside of battle." said Ash. Nodding, the kiosk worker immediately got Ash's order prepared. After a ten minute wait, the food was done, and Cynthia still hadn't made her choice of meal. As soon as Ash paid for the food and pokechow, Cynthia shot up.

"All right, I'll have the Cesar salad and seafood lasagne, please." As soon as her meal was paid for, she dashed over to Ash ad his group.

"All right then, to the museum." she said, and the group headed off. After ten minutes of walking, the museum came into view.

"So Ash," said Cynthia, "Have you got a special someone in your life yet?"

"Um, maybe." Ash nervously answered. This promptly made Cynthia get right up in his face.

"Really? Who, who?" she asked excitedly, making Ash stop due to the closeness. However, Espeon, who was right behind him, wasn't paying attention due to a cute female Vaporeon running by, and bumped right into Ash. Losing his balance, Ash fell straight forward, right into Cynthia's ample cleavage.

"Oh my," she said, "Ash, I had no idea you were so forward, I love that in a man." Then she started pressing him in farther, despite his attempts of freeing himself. "Go on Ash, smother yourself in them all you want. Or we could go to my room and take this farther." Upon hearing that, Pikachu fainted, a perverted grin plastered on his face, and Espeon started glaring at the former champion. Latias however, was shooting fire from her eyes. _'Oh no she did not! That's it, this means war!'_

'Espeon, can you help me out with something!'

'If it means taking down the shameless woman, count me in!'

'Okay, here's what I need you to do...' Meanwhile, Ash finally managed to get out of Cynthia's cleavage.

"Now, now Ash, no need to rush, we've got plenty of time." she said, and went over to a trash bin by the canal to throw out her trash, seductively swaying her hips the whole way. Once she threw out her empty styrofoam containers, she started to head back.

'Now!' Latias telepathed to Espeon. Immediately, his eyes glowed blue for a second, and a Wailmer in the canal 'just happened' to leap out of the water, over a bridge spanning the canal, and come down on the other side, making a huge splash and soaking Cynthia. Before the black clad blonde could get over the shock, Espeons eyes glowed again, and her foot 'just happened' to slip on the wet ground, causing her to tumble backwards and fall right into the water. That caused everyone to laugh, and laugh hard. Ash was holding his sides in pain from his mirth. Espeon was rolling around on the ground, unable to stop laughing, and Latias was hiding her face in her hands, trying to hold in her laughter, and failing miserably. After Cynthia managed to get out of the canal, she excused herself from the group and left for her hotel room, so she could change into something dry. When the three had caught their breath and woke up Pikachu, the group headed on to the Altomare museum, a smug smile plastered on Latias' face the whole way.

_'Hah, take that you hussy! Ash is mine and no one is getting him but me.' _Once they reached the museum, Ash saw something. A massive dome like building sat half a mile off the coast. A large stone bridge connected the building with the city itself, and it looked like a lot of important looking people were gathered by the entrance of the building.

_'Hmm, maybe Lorenzo will know what's going on.' _Ash thought to himself, and entered the museum. Finding Lorenzo wasn't to difficult, seeing as it was mostly empty. Ash found him in his usual spot by the DMA.

"Long time no see, Lorenzo." said Ash as he walked up to the aged man.

"Ash, how are you doing. Bianca came by earlier and told me everything."

"That's good, I hate repeating myself. Anyway Lorenzo, what's with that new building out off the coast?"

"That Ash, is the Altomare water stadium. You see, the government here felt that we weren't getting enough tourism these days, so he had the water stadium built to bring in more tourism. Also, tomorrow is the grand opening, and in celebration of the event, Altomare is hosting this years Wallace cup. That clear everything up?"

"Yes it does, thank you very much Lorenzo." With that, Ash left the museum. Looking out to the open water, Ash sat and watched the waves, but then he noticed something in the distance. At first it was faint, but after ten minutes it could be seen. It was a large cruise liner, and it was headed for Altomare.

'Wow, no ship that big has ever come to Altomare.' Latias telepathed.

"Well you got to remember, the Wallace cup is tomorrow, so I'm guessing that that cruise liner is carrying all the participants and spectators."

'Hey Ash, are you going to enter the contest?"

"You know what, I think I will. Just for the fun of it. Wait right there Latias, I'll be right back." Ash then made his way to the water stadium. Once he got there he went over to the nearest person.

"Excuse me sir," Ash asked, getting the man's attention. " Where do I need to go to sign up for the Wallace cup contest?"

"Just go inside and it's the desk in the center." replied the man.

"Thank you sir." And with that, Ash went inside the stadium. Going up to the center desk, he tapped the bell for service. Immediately, a secretary came in and sat down in the desk.

"Good afternoon sir, I assume you're here to sign up for the Wallace Cup?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ash replied.

"Alright then, I just need your pokedex and your contest pass, and we can start with the registration. Ash pulled both items out of his travel pack, and handed them to the secretary. After a quick scan on both items, the registration was complete.

"Thank you very much for your participation, we hope to see your dazzling display tomorrow." said the secretary, while bowing. Ash then headed back to where he left Latias, and when he got there he noticed how close the cruise ship was.

'It's almost here Ash!' said Latias excitedly. Then the ship started making preparations for docking.

"Let's go over to where its docking so we can meet some friends of mine." Said Ash, and the group dashed for the docks, eager to meet some old faces not seen in five years.

**A/N:**

**And that's a wrap people. Just to let you all know, Cynthia is just teasing Ash. She's not going to try splitting Ash away from Latias in any way. All she's doing is having fun while embarrassing Ash. So Like it, Love it, Hate it? R&R please.**


	11. Chapter 10

"Hi"- normal speech

"**Hi"**- electrical speech

_'Hi'_- normal thoughts

'Hi'-telepathy

**Chapter 10**

The large cruise liner was just pulling into port when Ash and his group got to the harbor.

'Wow, it's even bigger up close.' said an amazed Latias. The group watched as a massive portable staircase was wheeled up to the side of the ship. Once it was connected to the cruise liner, the passengers started disembarking. At first, Ash couldn't see anyone he recognized, but then he saw a very familiar patch of orange hair.

"Hey Zoey!" Ash hollered, "Zoey, over here!" The orange haired girl immediately started heading his way. As soon as she was free of the crowd, Zoey started looking around for whoever called her. Then she noticed Ash, and at first glance she didn't recognize him, but when she saw Pikachu her eyes went wide in realization.

"No way! Ash, is that you?" she asked. Ash just laughed at her gobsmacked expression.

" Hey Zoey, how've you been?" Snapping out of her shocked daze, Zoey smiled.

"I've been great. I've won the grand festival twice more since you left. I was going for three, but Dawn beat me in the last one."

Speaking of Dawn, where is she? I know for a fact she wouldn't miss the Wallace cup for the world." Just as Ash finished speaking, a pair of hands pressed themselves over his eyes.

"Guess who?" said a very familiar voice, making ash smile.

"There you are, Dawn. I was worried you didn't come." replied Ash as he removed the hands obstructing his vision, and being greeted with the sight of his smiling best friend.

"And miss out on a contest that could get me my last ribbon for the grand festival? Not happening." Ash smiled at the girl, and took in her appearance. She hadn't changed much from their traveling days. She wore the same outfit, but stood a bit taller, as she had grown over the past five years. Her hair was longer, stopping at around her mid back instead of her shoulders. But what surprised him the most was the Empoleon standing behind her.

"Woah! I don't believe this. Piplup evolved?" Dawn giggled.

"Yup, It was during a Hoenn contest. We ended up fighting May again, and her Blaziken was too powerful for Piplup to beat, so he evolved, but we still lost that one. We had lost to many points."

"So when did he evolve into an Empoleon?" questioned Ash.

"That happened during a training session. We were practicing a new technique when all the sudden, he evolves."

"Well congratulations to you Empoleon." said Ash.

"So Zoey, you're here too?" asked Dawn, making Zoey grin.

"That's right, I just need one more ribbon and it's Grand Festival time." Then a new voice made its presence known.

"Ash Ketchum, there you are!" Ash turned in the direction of the voice and saw May storming up to him.

"I can't believe you. You just slip off in the middle of the night without telling any of us? Your Espeon told your mother you had to do something extremely important, but what was so important in Altomare that you had to be here huh. I don't see some massive tidal wave coming to destroy the town." Ash couldn't help but sweatdrop at that statement.

"Calm down May. Something extremely important came up and I had to deal with it, but rest assured it's been dealt with. Sorry for not telling you but time was of the essence, and I couldn't stop to tell you guys."

"Fine, but what was it you had to take care of?"

"Well lets just say it was a matter of life and death and leave it at that." replied Ash nervously. May could tell he was hiding something, but decided against prying for now, she'd press him later.

"Fine." was all she said. Seeing the tension, Dawn decided to ease it up.

"Hey May, so you're here too?" May turned to her friend and smiled.

"Hey Dawn. Yep, I'm in this one too, and after that I'm on vacation."

"You too? I was gonna take one right after the Wallace cup."

"Really, where?"

"Here in Altomare, why?"

"Me too. Man, I can't wait. No TV gigs, no ads, and no model shoots for two whole weeks."

"I'm taking a break from it all as well," said Zoey, "but I'm going back to Snowpoint. I want to spend my relaxation time with family." As the three girls were talking about their vacation plans, a huffing and puffing Max came on the scene.

"Sis... I got...to stop... being... your... packmule, I got... your luggage."

"Oh sorry about that Max, thanks for getting that for me." said May, and took the large suitcase from Max.

"So Ash, who's this?" asked Dawn while gesturing to Latias.

"Oh, that's Amy. She's a friend I made when I came to Altomare the first time."

"So Amy, how did you and Ash meet up?" Asked Zoey.

"She can't answer you Zoey," replied Ash, "she was born mute."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that."

"Anyways it's getting crowded here. Why don't you girls go drop off your luggage and we'll all go someplace to hang out and catch up. Sound good?" asked Ash. Everyone agreed to the idea and headed off to the reserved hotel they were staying at. Ash started heading off himself when someone called out to him.

"Yo, Ash. Wait up man." Turning to the voice, Ash saw Brock coming towards him.

"Brock, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Do I always need a reason to be somewhere? Well to answer your question I came here to watch the Wallace Cup, seeing as both May and Dawn are competing." Ash nodded at this. Then Brock noticed Latias.

"Hey there Latias, how're you doing?" Ash went slackjawed at this.

"How on earth did you know it was Latias and not Bianca?"

"Simple, she's not wearing a beret or carrying her art supply bag. Bianca never goes anywhere without those." said a smirking Brock. Ash couldn't fault him there.

"It also helps that Bianca is right over there." said Brock, and pointed towards the harbor. Ash turned to look and immediately saw Bianca heading their way.

"Well let's go meet up with her." said Ash, and headed off towards Bianca, Brock following behind his friend.

"Hey Bianca, what are you up to?" asked Ash as soon as he reached Bianca.

"Oh nothing much, I saw that huge cruise liner pulling in and I just had to see it up close. I mean, no boat that big has ever come to Altomare. I guess the water stadium is doing its job pretty well."

"So Ash, you gonna enter the contest?" asked Brock.

"Yup, already signed up and everything."

"Wait, Ash is an elite four member, not a coordinator. Why's he signing up for the Wallace cup?" asked a very confused Bianca.

"Just because I'm an elite four member doesn't mean I don't know anything about coordinating. Believe it or not, most of my best techniques come from contest appeals."

"Wow, I thought you were either a trainer or a coordinator, I had no idea you could be both." The group then started heading over to the pokemon center, Ash explaining his techniques to Bianca the whole way, from the origins of the counter shield, to the concept behind Floatzel's ice missle technique. Soon the group reached the pokemon center.

"Hey Bianca, are there any parks nearby?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, there's one just over there," said Bianca, and pointed towards the aforementioned park. Nodding in thanks, Ash headed over to it and looked around, nodding in satisfaction when he saw it was deserted.

"All right guys, out you go." said Ash, and he activated and tossed four pokeballs into the air. Immediately, four beams of white light shot out of the pokeballs and materialized into Sceptile, Floatzel, Garchomp, and Zapdos. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and stood beside Zapdos, while Espeon sat down beside Floatzel.

"Alright guys, I've entered a contest and I want to know if any of you want to participate. Step back if you wish to pass." Garchomp and Sceptile stepped back, and Ash recalled them back into their balls. Pikachu also stepped out of the group and went back on Ash's shoulder. Ash waited a few minutes for the others to decide, but they didn't step back.

"Okay, so you three want to participate, although I am curious as to why you want to Zapdos? I didn't think contests are your style."

"**I've heard you talk about them and I must say I am interested. To fight with grace instead of strength, there is something unique about these contests that I wish to try." **replied Zapdos.

"You do realize that this contest is broadcasted worldwide? Once you are sent out, the whole world will know of you." At this, Zapdos shrugged his shoulders, as best a bird could do.

"**That doesn't concern me. To be honest, I was expecting you to reveal me a lot sooner, so I do not mind."**

"Well alright then, so you three will be in the team." Ash recalled Floatzel and Zapdos, and the group headed back to the pokemon center. Entering the building, the on duty Nurse Joy looked up to the group and smiled, but on the inside she was sweating bullets.

_'Oh no, it's __Him__! Okay girl don't worry, just ignore him and hopefully one of the girls will drag him off.'_

"Hello, and welcome to the pokemon center, do your pokemon need healing?"

_'Brace yourself girl.'_ was the thought running through Joy's head.

"No thank you Nurse, I just need to use the transfer machine."

"All right then, just let me know if you need anything." With that Ash headed over to the transfer phone, while Brock, Bianca and Latias sat down and waited. Ash dialed up Professor Oak and after two rings he was answered.

"Hello, Pallet town pokemon lab, professor Oak speaking."

"Hello professor, how's it going?"

"Well hello to you too Ash, I'm doing well. Where are you by the way?"

"I'm in Altomare right now. Something important came to my attention last night, so I had to rush. Now that it's been resolved, I thought I'd enter the Wallace cup."

"I assume you're in the Altomare pokemon center, and Brock is with you, correct?" Ash nodded.

"Oh dear, that poor nurse." replied the professor.

"Actually professor, Brock already has someone in his life, so he isn't going to be womanizing the nurse anytime soon."

"What! He actually found someone! My goodness, miracle in action right there."Upon hearing the news, Nurse joy's train of thought screeched to a halt.

_'He actually... found... someone...(HAAAAAAAAALELUJAH!)'_ Nurse Joy could practically hear the angel choir. Her family was finally free of that creepy stalker.

"So Ash, I assume You called to transfer some pokemon seeing as you are entering the Wallace cup?" asked professor Oak.

"That's right professor, I'm sending back Garchomp and Sceptile, and could you remove Pikachu from my active roster. In return I want Froslass, Meganium, and Heracross." Professor Oak left the screen for a few minutes, then returned with three pokeballs in hand.

"All right Ash, here they are." said the professor. Ash nodded and placed two pokeballs on the transport dish, then in a flash of light, three pokeballs had replaced them. Taking the three pokeballs off the dish and clipping him to his belt, Ash thanked the professor and hung up.

"Ok guys, lets go." said Ash, and headed out the door, his group of friends following. Nurse joy waited until they were gone, then dashed for the phone. Upon reaching it, she dialed the first number that came to mind. The phone rang three times, and was answered.

"Hello, Pewter city Pokemon center, Nurse joy speaking."

"Sis, it's me. You're not going to believe this, the crazy stalker is gone!"

"No way, He lives in town, and I haven't seen him with anybody."

"I heard it from his own friend sis, He's taken, he's out of our hair for good."

"All right sis, here's what we'll do. You start calling everyone in Johto, and I'll call everyone in Kanto. Once you're done you start calling everyone in Sinnoh, and I'll do Hoenn."

"You got it sis," And with that the two Joys hung up and started calling their relatives. Tonight they would be partying.

Ash and his group just rounded the corner, when they saw May, Max and the other girls heading their way.

"There he is. Where have you been Ash, we've been looking all over for you." asked May.

"Sorry about that, I was just getting a few things worked out. There's this nice park nearby that we can head over to relax and chat." At this, Zoey smiled.

"Well that sounds great, lead the way." she said, and Ash brought them to the park he had gone to earlier. As the group relaxed, Zoey thought of something.

"Hey Ash, you haven't been seen for five years by friend and family right? So what were you doing for all that time?"

"Training for the master's tournament." replied Ash. This got Dawn and Zoey's attention.

"Really! Did you enter?" asked Dawn.

"Unfortunately no. I needed three national achievements to enter and I only had two."

"Well that's a shame. All that time training and you couldn't even enter." said Zoey.

"Actually, I'm glad I didn't. If I did, I don't think I would have been accepted into the elite four." At this, Dawn and Zoey went slack jawed.

"You're in the elite four!" they both shouted. Ash quietly chuckled

"Yup, Lance himself invited me. Not only that, but I'm the final member."

"Holy smokes Ash, that's incredible." said Dawn.

"So girls, did you register for the contest?" At this the girls nodded.

"Yup, we did that before we went looking for you." said Zoey.

"Well it turns out that I've also registered in the Wallace cup." At this, Zoey got a peeved look on her face.

"Honestly Ash, you maybe an elite four member, but you're a battler. What would you know about grace?" she asked. Ash said nothing, instead he reached into his travel pack, and started rummaging around in it. Everyone was curious to see what he was going to pull out. When Ash's hand left his pack, he was holding a thin black case. Opening the case, Ash showed the contents to his friends, who all displayed varying degrees of shock, for nestled in red satin were three contest ribbons.

"I'd like to think I know a few things about grace." said Ash.

"Okay, I admit you got some skill, but still, you can't compare to experienced coordinators."

"Don't be too quick to judge Zoey, take Nando for example. The guy battled and coordinated, and he almost beat you in the Grand Festival."

"A very astute observation, my friend." said a musical voice which everyone recognized.

"Well speak of Giratina and he will come, how've you been Nando." said Ash.

"I have been doing well, I am hoping to win the Wallace cup this year." replied Nando while he plucked and strummed his harp.

"So you're doing the contests this year huh." said Dawn

"Not quite, I'm doing the gyms as well."

"Which region?" asked Ash.

"I am challenging the Kanto league and contests this year." replied the bard.

"Hey, that means we'll be in the contests together, this is my second time participating in the Kanto contests." replied May.

"Oh joy, that means easy pickings for me." said a voice that May knew all too well.

"What are you doing here Drew? Wait, stupid question, don't answer."

"You should just give up while you still can May, we all know you're gonna lose." said Drew.

"How do you know? Maybe I'll win, then I'll get to see that arrogant smirk rubbed off your face."

"Hm, as if. I've beaten you three times already. We all know you're going to get creamed."

"A man's greatest key to downfall, is his own arrogance." said Nando as he strummed his harp in a low

chord. Drew merely waved him off.

"I'm not arrogant, I know for a fact that I'm going to beat May. So Ash, I heard you were entering the Wallace cup as well. Well we all know whose going down first, even May could probably beat you." said Drew. Ash didn't even bother making any sort of reply. Drew, seeing that Ash wasn't acknowledging him, growled a bit under his breath.

"Fine, stay silent. We all know you're going to lose. Anyways I got to run, see you. Oh and May." he called.

"What is it Drew?"she asked tiredly, wanting him to be gone. Drew smiled, not his arrogant one, but a real, friendly smile.

"You should probably work on Glaceon some more, she could probably use some fine tuning, later" he said, and walked off.

"Jeez, talk about arrogant." said Dawn.

"Nah, that's just his weird way of saying hi. He's actually quite helpful when he wants to be." said May.

"Well if you say so." said Zoey, and then she stretched. "If you guys don't mind, I think I'll head back to the hotel now. Later." And with that Zoey walked off to the hotel, her Glameow walking right behind her.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep since I had to jump from ship to ship to get here, so I'll be heading off. See ya." said Dawn, and headed off to the hotel and a comfy bed.

"I better get training. Glaceon does need the fine tuning. See you tomorrow Ash." said May, and she headed off towards the training grounds, Max following along.

"Hey Ash, do you have a place I could crash? I have the absolute strangest feeling that the pokemon center is going to be extremely noisy tonight." said Brock.

"Sure Brock, I'll take you to my place, it has a spare bedroom." said Ash. Brock quirked an eyebrow.

"You have your own place?"

"Yeah, just a summer house. I won it as a prize for coming in first place in this pokemon battle royale they were hosting a few years back."

"Well I'll take Latias back home, you guys get going." said Bianca, and went off with Latias, leaving Ash and Brock alone.

"Come on Brock, I'll show you the way." said Ash as pikachu leapt up onto his shoulder. The two walked through the streets of Altomare, but as time went by, Brock realized they weren't getting anywhere.

"Uh Ash, are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Relax Brock, I've got a map right here." said Ash, and showed the map to Brock. Upon seeing it, Brock couldn't help but sweat drop.

"Uh Ash, you do realize that map's upside down right?" Ash's eyes widened as he checked the map, and realized Brock was right.

"Uh, he he, whoops." said Ash sheepishly.

"**Whoops! That's all you can say? I can't believe this. What did I tell you, you could get lost by reading a map. First Hoenn, and now this! You are hopeless Ash. **Ranted Pikachu. Ash was about to retort, when he heard a very familiar voice.

"Well, well, well, what a surprise, meeting you here Ash. How long has it been, five years?" Ash turned to the voice and saw the one person he did not expect to be here.

"Tobias, long time no see. If I may ask, what are you doing here in Altomare? I never expected you to be into contests." Tobias laughed at that.

"No, no, I'm not here for the Wallace cup. You see, Lance, Wallace, and I are here to discuss whether or not to accept Unova into the international pokemon league committee. If we do, then foreign trainers will be allowed to compete in the Unova league, and vice versa."

"And you guys chose here because Wallace was coming here anyway, right." Tobias smiled and nodded.

"That is correct Ash. Oh, and before I forget, Darkrai you can come out, we're among friends." As soon as Tobias said that, a shadow detached itself from the wall. First, a white plume of hair that resembled smoke seemed to rise up out of the dark abyss of the shadow, then when enough of the hair had emerged, the right side seemed to move itself to the left, revealing a glowing blue eye. Then a blood red collar rose up out of the ground like a set of bloody teeth. After the collar, the pitch black pokemon's shoulders and chest emerged from the shadow, patches of black fur fluttering in a nonexistent breeze, making it look like the being was not corporeal. Soon the last of Darkrai freed itself from it's shadowy confines, revealing a slim waist, and what looked to be a frayed skirt. Tobias rolled his eyes at the display.

"Must you always make an entrance." he said. Ash smirked.

"So Darkrai, how's it been?" he asked.

'Interesting to say the least.' a telepathic voice rang in Ash's head, completely surprising him.

"I didn't know you could use telepathy."

'There's a lot about me you don't know. I only speak to those I trust, or those who really piss me off.'

"Alright Darkrai, that's enough. So Ash, what brings you to Altomare?"

"I'm participating in the Wallace cup, and I'm also visiting some friends of mine that live here." At this, Tobias raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you coordinate. Well good luck to you I guess." Then Darkrai floated up to Ash.

'I wish to fight you again.' he said, surprising Ash.

"Why do you want to battle me again. Not that I don't wish to or anything, I'd be honored. I'm just wondering why now?"

'All the challengers that have faced Tobias and myself, have not come close to defeating me. It took the former Champion five pokemon to bring me down. You did it with three, making you the strongest trainer I have ever faced. It's been five years, we've both grown stronger, so I wish to test your strength against mine.' Tobias decided to interject.

"Now now Darkrai, I'm pretty certain Ash is quite busy with his upcoming contest challenge, but I'm quite sure we can set something up at a later date."

'As long as I get to fight him.' said the pitch black pokemon.

"So Ash, what date works for you?"

"Hmm, well after the contest I'm going to be relaxing for a couple weeks, so how about the end of the month, sound good?"

'That is acceptable' Darkrai replied.

"Well if Darkrai sees no problem with it then neither do I. End of the month it is Ash. Anyway, I have to get going. Tata for now." And with that, Tobias strode off, Darkrai floating beside him all the way.

"Man, that was creepy," said Brock, "just being in Darkrai's presence feels like a nightmare."

"Oh hush you big baby, it's not that bad."

'Something doesn't seem right with Tobias,' replied Espeon, 'He was speaking truthfully and all, but he's hiding something. You once told me he has a Latios, correct?' Ash nodded.

"Yeah he does, what does that have to do with anything?"

'Take a guarded approach around him, and whatever you do, don't let him find out about Latias. He may try to capture her if he finds out. That Latios of his might be able to see through the disguise she puts up.'

"Alright I'll do that. Now then, think you can help me find the house." Espeon sighed.

'This way.' he said and led them through the evening streets back home.

**A/N:**

**And that's a wrap people. A bit late, but longer to make up for it. Now a couple questions for you readers. The first one is, during the Wallace cup, do you guys want to see any Unovan pokemon? Secondly, do you guys want the contest to be single or double style? I know in canon it was single, but I think it would be better if it were double, but either one works fine. Leave your answers in a review please. So, Like it, love it, hate it? R&R please.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Okay everyone, just a quick word to you all regarding my fic. Last chapter I asked you all to vote on whether you wanted to see Unovan pokemon, and if you wanted the Wallace cup to either be single or double style. I decided by first to five, so here are the results:**

**Unovans:**

**yes: 5**

**no:3**

**Unovans will make an appearance. I'm only using three, and they have already been chosen by request, and yes Miju I am using Oshawott.**

**Contest style:**

**Single:4**

**Double:5**

**The contest will be double style. I have spent careful consideration for each featured coordinator, consulting various friends on appeal ideas and team lineups, and it is my hope that my hard work will be greatly enjoyed by all you readers.**

**Now one last thing before we get to the story. To prevent any confusion in future chapters, the way pokemon know moves is the same as the anime, all moves the pokemon have learned are available to them. However, during battle they can only concentrate on and use four attacks, meaning they can only use four moves per fight. Now on with the story.**

**Both OC's are owned by my beta reader Eclispe 2025**

"Hi"- Normal speech

_'Hi'_- Normal thoughts

"**Hi"**- Electric speech

'Hi'- Telepathy

**Chapter 11**

The morning sun was shining brightly on Altomare as the entire town's population headed for the Altomare water stadium. Officer Jenny and her men kept the mass of people moving safely to their destination, and acted as security for the massive stadium. Pokemon Coordinators participating in the contest were given room to move quickly to their destination. Eventually, all the spectators were seated and the Coordinators in their dressing rooms. Ash stepped out of his dressing room, and into the Coordinator commons, Espeon striding beside him. He immediately saw Dawn, Zoey and May talking to each other excitedly over something. Looking around, He saw Nando strumming his harp, and Drew talking with two other Coordinators about something. The male Coordinator had black and yellow hair, the colors being separated in the middle. He was wearing a formal black tuxedo, with golden yellow buttons and a yellow bow tie. The female Coordinator had long dark green hair, her bangs being held by hair clips that looked like ruby red flowers. She was wearing a pale green dress with puffed sleeves.

Ash decided to head over to Dawn's little group to see what had her so excited.

"So girls," he said when he came into their midst, "what has you three so excited?"

"Well Ash," replied Dawn, "it appears that a previously retired Coordinator has decided to participate in the Wallace cup this year."

"Do you three know who it is?" asked Ash.

"No. We don't even know what region she comes from," replied May, "when I was getting my team finalized earlier, Professor Birch mentioned an old traveling friend of his was coming to the Wallace cup to participate."

"How did he know?"

"Well I asked him the same thing, and he replied that she had retrieved her pokemon from him earlier today."

"Is that the sound of gossip I hear?" asked a familiar voice.

"Oh hi Jessie," said Ash, "come over here and join us, that is if everyone's okay with it?" Thankfully, they nodded. Ash was extremely grateful that Brock had filled them in earlier about the former team rocket. He did not want a repeat of last night. Jessie smiled and joined the group.

"So, what's the bug buzz hmm?" she asked.

"Well apparently, a formerly retired Coordinator has entered the Wallace cup." replied Zoey.

"Ooh, I heard about that. The rumors are flying everywhere."

"So what are you going to do for an appeal Jessie? Hopefully it won't be running into Wobbuffet while he uses counter." said Dawn teasingly. Jessie puffed her cheeks in indignation.

"I'll have you know that I have an appeal that will blow the judges away."

"I hope she means that figuratively." joked May.

"Now now," said Ash, chuckling lightly at Jessie's red face, "I didn't invite Jessie over here just so she could be teased. So how are everyone's pokemon?"

Meanwhile, up in the stands, Brock, Max, Bianca, Pikachu, and Latias (Who was once again in human disguise) were searching for good seats when Brock spotted someone waving them over. Curious, he led the group over to the person, and was shocked to discover that it was Drake.

"Woah," said a surprised Max, "What's Drake doing here?" Drake laughed at Max's shocked face.

"Why, to see my grandson participate of course." He replied. Brock raised an eyebrow.

"You have a grandson? Who is it?"

"I thought you would know, seeing as he is your best friend." That shocked everybody, save the two pokemon.

"Hold up," said Brock, unable to keep the shock from showing, "Ash is your grandson?"

"That's right, although I'm quite surprised myself that he coordinates. I saw you guys looking for seats, care to keep an old man company?" With that, the group sat by Drake. Then two other familiar faces came by.

"Hello everybody." said a very familiar voice. The group turned and saw James and Meowth heading towards them. Luckily, Brock had informed his friends earlier that the Team Rocket members now worked as Ash's house keepers.

"Can we sit with you guys? Jessie's competing and we want to have the best view." asked James.

"Go ahead, oh and sorry about last night."

"It's perfectly alright," said James, and the two sat down beside Brock. After fifteen minutes of waiting the Announcer came on stage.

"Good morning Altomare, and welcome to this years Wallace cup. I'm your hostess Vivian, and here are your judges." Vivian gestured toward four people sitting at a rectangular table. "Our first Judge is Mr. Contesta." said Vivian.

"It's good to be here Vivian. Altomare is a very beautiful city." said Contesta.

"Our next judge is the president of the international pokemon fanclub, Mr. Sukizo," continued Vivian.

"Thank you Vivian, Altomare is certainly remarkable."

"The third Judge is Altomare's very own Nurse Joy." said Vivian, who gestured to the very happy looking Nurse.

"Thank you, this is my first time judging a contest. I hope everyone will make a dazzling performance."

"Finally, our last judge is the Hoenn champion and top coordinator, Wallace." the stands gave a roar of cheers to Wallace.

"Thank you Vivian, I am honored to be in the city of high seas." replied Wallace.

"Mi, Milo." said Wallace's Milotic, who was coiled up beside her master.

"Now without further ado, lets get this contest started." and with that, the stadium floor split away, revealing the massive water stage.

"Alright everyone, this year the Wallace cup is doing something different. This will be a double style contest, meaning two pokemon will be used for appeals and battles. Now let the contest begin."

Ash and his friends waited patiently for their turns to appeal, watching the other coordinators make their appeals on the large television in the common room. Most were quite impressive, but there were a few slips and mess ups. As soon as the most recent appeal was finished the usher came in and asked for a coordinator, who, when he came forward, Ash recognized as one of the Coordinators talking to Drew earlier. The usher then led him onto the stage, and the Coordinator was met with great cheers.

"Spark, Berry, it's showtime." he shouted as he threw his Pokeballs. Upon opening, a myriad of flower petals burst from the balls and spiraled around on a floating platform, two pokemon forming inside the storm of petals. When the petals cleared, the first pokemon revealed was a Luxray, but the second one was a pokemon that shocked everyone. The judges knew what it was, but they were not expecting such a pokemon to be seen outside it's home region.

"And Light appeals with Sparky, a Luxray, and Berry, A pokemon from the Unova region called Serperior, and a shiny one at that." Vivian exclaimed.

"Spark, Discharge. Berry, Leaf Storm." commanded Light. Blue bolts of electricity blasted from the Luxray, while a massive flurry of leaves surrounded the Serperior. The Discharge attack then started combining with the Leaf Storm, creating a ball of electricity and leaves.

"Now Spark, Iron Tail. Berry, Leaf Blade." Light called, and the two pokemon did as ordered, sending the ball into the air using their attacks. Just as the ball was coming back down, Light called out for one last combo.

"Spark, Charge Beam. Berry, Solarbeam." Immediately, Berry started gathering sunlight, and Luxray started gathering electricity. Just as the ball was halfway down, the two pokemon launched their attacks. As they flew, the two attacks twisted and fused together and punched straight through the Discharge and Leaf Storm ball, absorbing the two previous attacks as they went. The collection of attacks then detonated in a massive display of electricity and light. The two pokemon returned to their trainer's side and the three bowed to the audience, who were in awed applause. The judges were also very impressed.

"The combination of Solarbeam and Charge beam was extremely dazzling, and the combination of all four attacks was astounding." said Contesta.

"Yes, truly remarkable." said Mr. Sukizo.

"I am deeply impressed by the skill of the Coordinator, and the power of his pokemon." said Nurse Joy.

"I am quite impressed by the use of a Unovan pokemon. I was not expecting one to be seen in this contest." replied Wallace.

Back in the common room, Ash and his friends were impressed by the appearance of a Unovan pokemon and its power. A few more appeals went by, but none weren't really comparing to Light's appeal. Then the Usher returned and called for Ash.

Up in the stands, Brock and his group were chatting about Light's appeal, when Vivian introduced the next Coordinator.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Kanto's thunder lord and final elite four member, Ash Ketchum." Immediately the stadium was filled with the cheers of Ash's rather sizable fan club as he walked onto the stage. Ash's friends and family joined in too.

"Froslass, Meganium, let's go." Ash shouted and sent out his pokemon. As the balls opened, one unleashed a flurry of cherry blossoms, while the other unleashed a flurry of powder snow. The two seal effects twined around each other as they came down towards a floating platform, creating a beautiful effect. The two effects then cleared, revealing a Froslass and Meganium.

"Oh wow, what are those pokemon?" said Max as he pulled out his pokedex. Activating it, he pointed the machine to Froslass.

"Froslass" the pokedex beeped, "the Snow Land pokemon and the evolved form of Snorunt. It freezes prey with breath as cold as -60oF, which it then secretly displays in its nest."

"So that's a Froslass huh," said Max, then pointed the pokedex towards the second pokemon "What about the other one?"

"Meganium," spoke the pokedex, "the Herb pokemon and the final evolved form of Chikorita. The petals on its neck release a scent that quells aggression. Its breath has the unique ability to revive dead plants."

"Cool, I didn't know Ash had those pokemon." Then the appeal started.

"Froslass, use Hail. Meganium, use Safeguard." The two pokemon jumped into action. Froslass threw a lump of ice high into the air, which created a dark cloud that poured hail down on the stage, while Meganium created a barrier that protected her from the cold.

"Dance Froslass. Meganium, use Petal Dance." Froslass immediately initiated a graceful, complex dance, and due to her ability Snow Cloak, she seemed to faze in and out of existence. While this was going on Meganium unleashed a horde of pink petals that swayed and spiraled around her, creating a beautiful effect.

"Meganium, continue with Petal Dance. Froslass, use Blizzard." Froslass then created a diamond dust flurry that joined with the Petal Dance, creating a blizzard of diamond dust and cherry blossoms, which made for a dazzling appeal.

"All right, time for the finish. Meganium, Solarbeam. Froslass, Ice Beam." commanded Ash.

Meganium started charging her massive petals with solar energy, while Froslass gathered cold energy between her hands. The two then fired their respective attacks at each other, and while the Solarbeam was powerful, the Ice Beam was enhanced by the hailstorm, making the two attacks even in power. The point where the two attacks met started creating a bright light, which refracted off the hail and Blizzard, making them glow with a rainbow of color. This enhanced the look of the Petal Dance and gave the appeal a spectacular finish. The two pokemon returned to their trainer and bowed with him, and were then returned to their pokeballs. The applause was filled with cheers and screams, and the judges were amazed by the appeal's beauty.

"That was one of the most spectacular appeals I have seen yet." exclaimed Contesta.

"Remarkable." replied Sukizo

"Using Safeguard to protect Meganium from the chill of Froslass' attacks, and to prevent the confusion of Petal Dance, beautiful and ingenious." said Nurse Joy.

"Grass and ice, two types that normally clash against each other, were blended in perfect grace and beauty. A most amazing appeal." said Wallace. Up in the stands, Brock and Bianca were cheering up a storm, and Latias was clapping like mad. Drake was also clapping at the amazing appeal. Soon the audience quietened and awaited the next appeal.

When Ash returned to the common room, he was surrounded by his friends.

"That was incredible Ash." said May.

"Incredible? He just made Light's appeal look like an amateur. That is way more than incredible." replied Dawn.

"So you can put on a good show, but can you do that in battle?" asked Drew.

"I am awed by your display of beauty, my good friend. It will be most difficult to match such grace." replied Nando. Then all four Coordinators looked at Zoey, who had remained silent, expectantly. Sighing, she responded.

"Okay, okay, you know what you're doing. I was wrong about you."

"Thanks guys." said Ash, smiling. Soon, more Coordinators made their appeals, though none were as great as Ash's. The one that came closest was a girl named Saria, whom Ash recognised as the other person talking to Drew earlier.

"Hey Drew," Ash called, "what were Light and Saria talking to you about?" Drew was about to respond, when the usher came in and called for him.

"Sorry Ash, I got to get going. I'll tell you when I'm done." said Drew, and made his way to the stage. As soon as Vivian introduced him, he made his way to the stage, and pulled out two pokeballs.

"Roserade, Oshawott, take the stage." said Drew, and in a torrent of flowers and bubbles, his two pokemon appeared, earning surprised gasps from the audience due to the use of another Unovan pokemon. Ash and his group, while watching the television, were also shocked that Drew had a Unovan.

"And Drew brings out another Unovan pokemon. How will his appeal go?" exclaimed Vivian.

"Oshawott, Water Pulse. Roserade, Energy Ball." Drew commanded. The two pokemon created their attacks and fired them together into the air. The Energy Ball struck the Water Pulse and was caught inside it, making the sphere of water shine with emerald light, creating a beautiful appeal.

"Roserade, surround the orb with Petal Dance. Oshawott, get up there with Aqua Jet." Drew ordered. Roserade started spinning and fired a flurry of pink petals into the air, which swirled around the ball of water. Then Oshawott used Aqua Jet and shot into the air like a missile, propelling himself above the ball.

"Now use Shell Blade." shouted Drew. Oshawott grabbed the scalchop on it's stomach, charged up Shell Blade, and sliced the ball clean in half. The Energy Ball and Water Pulse then exploded together, emerald energy shining in the drops of water, creating a dazzling appeal. Then Oshawott started falling, and fast. Luckily, Drew had a plan.

"Roserade, use Petal Dance to slow Oshawott's fall." Roserade immediately did as her master ordered, and fired a flurry of petals that surrounded Oshawott. The water type then started spinning as he came down, and landed beside Drew just as Roserade got there. The three then bowed, thus ending their appeal. The crowd burst into applause, and the judges were quite impressed as well.

"That was quite the appeal." said Contesta.

"Remarkable." said Sukizo.

"Oshawott must be powerful to slice through Energy Ball so easily." said Nurse Joy.

"A very good appeal, though there have been better." replied Wallace. Making his way back to the common room, Drew left the stage.

"Alright everybody, put your hands together for Nando the bard" shouted Vivian, and said bard walked up to the stage and sent out his pokemon. The balls opened and music scores and notes shot out, and spiraled into the air. When the effect cleared, an Altaria and Kricketune were revealed.

"Kricketune, use Bug Buzz, Altaria, Dragon Dance." said the bard as he strummed his harp. Kricketune started making a sound that resonated out into crimson waves, while the Altaria started to do a strange, complex dance, the Bug Buzz flowing around the cotton winged dragon as it moved. As soon as Altaria finished Dragon Dance, it flew into the center of the stage, Kricketune flying just above it.

"Now Altaria, use Twister." commanded Nando. Altaria then surrounded itself and Kricketune in a Twister attack.

"Now you two, use Perish Song." shouted the bard. Immediately an eerie, haunting melody echoed and resonated through the stadium, sending shivers down the backs of all who heard it. The howl of the twister only added to the effect, creating a stunning musical appeal. Soon the song and Twister attack ended, and the two pokemon bowed with their master. The audience broke out into cheers for the bard, calling for encore. The judges voiced their opinions and Nando left the stage.

"Now hold onto your seats people, 'cause I give you, May Maple, Hoenn's fiery princess." Vivian shouted, and cheers broke out as May made her way to the stage.

"Blaziken, Snorlax, take the stage." she said, and sent out her pokemon in a shower of multicolored flames.

"Blaziken, Snorlax, use Focus Blast." The two pokemon combined their Focus blast attacks, and fired the large orb into the air.

"All right Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut." With a powerful leap, Blaziken smashed the ball with a glowing fist, creating an explosion of energy that Blaziken posed in front of, making for an impressive appeal. As soon as Blaziken landed beside Snorlax, May called out her next move.

"Blaziken, Snorlax, use Superpower." she commanded. The two pokemon once again combined their attacks, creating a massive orb of volatile energy, and hurling it into the air.

"Alright Blaziken, use Blaze Kick to send it towards Snorlax." Obeying his master, Blaziken leaped into the air above the massive Superpower, and kicked it hard with a devastating Blaze Kick. The Superpower was then coated with flames, making it look like a massive meteor coming straight down on Snorlax, who stood unflinchingly as it approached.

"Snorlax, use Mega Punch." shouted May. Winding up, Snorlax smashed the Superpower attack head on with a devastating Mega Punch, destroying the attack in a shower of fire and energy, creating an awe inspiring appeal. The two pokemon bowed with their trainer, ending the appeal. The stands were a cacophany of clapping and cheers, no one cheering harder for May than her brother.

"Whoo, you go sis. Show 'em how it's done!" shouted Max.

With that the judges made their comments.

"Such power. A most jaw dropping appeal." said Contesta.

"Absolutely remarkable" exclaimed Sukizo.

"The power those two pokemon have, it's scary." said Nurse Joy.

"Indeed. A wonderous appeal of strength and toughness." said Wallace. Once May left the stage, Zoey was introduced. Making her way to the stage, Zoey called out her pokemon.

"Gallade, Leafeon, curtains." she shouted, and in a display of twining ribbon, her two pokemon appeared.

"Lefeon, Magical Leaf. Gallade, Psycho Cut." Zoey commanded. Leafeon fired a barrage of multicolored leaves at Gallade, who retaliated with a multitude of glowing crescent blades. The two attacks collided and deflected each other.

"Gallade, grab those attacks with Psychic and spin them around you and Leafeon." Gallade did as he was ordered, spinning the two attacks around with psychic force.

"Now you two, Leaf Blade." Gallade's elbows shot out into swords and glowed bright green, while Leafeon's tail and head leaf glowed green and became like blades. The two then clashed in a sword fight, the two attacks spiraling around them rotating fiercely. The two pokemon fought for a few minutes, then Zoey decided to finish.

"All right you two, use Swords Dance." The two pokemon moved in perfect synchronization, going through the motions of Swords Dance, creating a dazzling appeal. After Zoey and her pokemon had bowed, the crowed cheered long and hard for her dazzling performance.

"That was quite the display." said Contesta.

"Very remarkable." said Sukizo.

"That was a very skillful appeal." said Nurse Joy.

"Very interesting. The whole look was enhanced by the Magical Leaf and Psycho Cut attacks surrounding them." said Wallace.

After Zoey left the stage, Jessie was introdced. Striding up to the stage, Jessie called out her pokemon.

"Yanmega, Wobbuffet, let's go." The balls burst open and in a shower of pink hearts, the two pokemon appeared.

"Yanmega, Ancientpower on Wobbuffet. Wobbuffet, send it into the air with Mirror Coat." Yanmega fired a silvery white ball of light at Wobbuffet, who then became glossy and swatted the ball into the air.

"Yanmega, fly around Wobbuffet while using Silver Wind. Wobbuffet, keep using Mirror Coat to juggle the Ancientpower and add Silver Wind to it." Yanmega flew around in tight circles, surrounding Wobbuffet in a Silver Wind tornado, all the while Wobbuffet kept using Mirror Coat to smack the Ancientpower into the air while adding the power of Silver Wind to it, causing it to grow bigger and bigger. When it became big enough, Jessie called in the finisher.

"Yanmega, smash the Ancientpower with Giga Impact. Wobbuffet, use Safeguard." Yanmega shot at the massive silver ball like a rocket, volatile spiraling energy surrounding him, and smashed into the ball at full force, shattering it like glass. Shards of the ball rained down like a storm of shooting stars, and Safeguard was strong enough to repel any that got too close to either pokemon. All in all, it was a wonderful appeal. The crowd cheered hard for the coordinator as she and her pokemon bowed to the audience.

"Go Jessie! You're the best!" hollered James.

"Dat's showin em who da top cat is!" cheered Meowth.

Once Jessie left for the common room, Dawn was introduced. Stepping onto the stage, she called out her pokemon.

"Typhlosion, Togekiss, spotlight." she called, and in a shower of confetti, her two pokemon appeared.

"Typhlosion, Eruption. Togekiss, Air Slash." Typhlosion glowed deep crimson, the fire collar around his neck blasting full force, and lauched six large fireballs from his mouth. Togekiss flew up high, and used Air Slash to decimate each fireball.

"All right, Togekiss, charge up Sky Attack. Typhlosion, use Flamethrower." Togekiss cloaked itself in harsh blue light, and Typhlosion fired a powerful stream of fire at Togekiss. However, instead of damaging her, the Flamethrower combined with the Sky Attack, creating a massive glowing bird that appeared to be made of fire.

"Launch the Sky Attack" commanded Dawn, and Togekiss launched the bird of fire upward. Rising high into the air, the combination detonated in a beautiful fireworks explosion. The audience was cheering hard for Dawn as she bowed with her two pokemon.

"An amazing appeal. Utilizing the two attacks flawlessly. What beauty." said Contesta

"Remarkable." said Sukizo.

"An amazing combination at the end. To think such an attack combo was possible." said Nurse Joy.

"A powerful start, and a beautiful finish. That was one of the best appeals in the contest." said Wallace.

When Dawn reached the common room, her friends gathered around and congratulated her.

"That was amazing, Dawn." said May.

"Man, what a finish. You're definitely advancing." said Zoey.

"Impressive use of Sky Attack." said Ash. Dawn smiled at their praise.

"Well, all that's left is our mystery Coordinator, and then the battle rounds start." she said. Ash was just about to question who the Coordinator was, when the usher came in and asked for the very Coordinator they were talking about. Of course, it was all by number so they had no idea what her name was.

"Well there's one left. Who do you think it is?" asked Brock. As the group chatted about who the mystery Coordinator could be, Drake bought himself and Pikachu a soda from the concession cart.

"And now for our final appeal," said Vivian, "The Coordinator has asked that we not reveal her name until otherwise specified, so in the meantime I give you Mrs. Mystery." Brock raised an eyebrow.

"Is that allowed?" he asked Max.

"Yeah, sometimes retired Coordinators who compete for kicks or some other reason, but don't want to deal with fans or news reporters, take up aliases so as to hide their identity."

Max replied.

"Makes sense. She's even wearing a veil. I can't see her face." Then the appeal began.

"Gardevoir, Milotic, dance with elegance." The two thrown balls burst open, and in a shower of snowflakes, both pokemon were revealed, but one of them was different.

"Ah, something's up with that Gardevoir," said Max, "I've never seen one colored like that."

"It's a shiny Gardevoir." said Drake. Instead of the usual green, red, and white, the Gardevoir was instead blue, the horn and eyes were a soft orange, and the 'dress' was a pale pink.

"Gardevoir, Psychic. Milotic, Twister." Milotic summoned a twister that surrounded Gardevoir, who used Psychic to feed water into the twister.

"Now use Ice Beam." Milotic fired a powerful Ice Beam at the Twister attack, freezing it solid with Gardevoir still inside it.

"Gardevoir, use Psychic once more." The frozen twister then glowed within from psychic energies, and shattered into shards, which stayed suspended in the air from Gardevoir's Psychic attack.

"Now Milotic, use Hydro Pump." Milotic then fired a massive torrent of water into the air, which split in the middle and formed a giant heart. Gardevoir then gathered the ice chunks into the center of the heart and increased her psychic output, making the ice shine in a rainbow of light. Mystery and her pokemon ended the appeal and bowed. The audience applauded the beautiful display, and the judges were also impressed. Moving off the stage, Mystery left for the common room to await the advancing selections, hoping to be chosen, along with everyone else.

**A/N:**

**And that's a wrap people. Any guesses as to who Mrs. Mystery is? Anyways this is my first time writing something this massive and detailed, so I hope I did a good job. Oh, can someone tell me how much Coordinators are selected into the battle rounds in the anime? That would be most appreciated. So what did you think? Like it, love it, hate it? R&R please.**


	13. Chapter 12

"Hi"- Normal speech

"**Hi"**- electric speech

_'Hi'- _Normal thoughts

'Hi'- Telepathy

**Chapter 12**

"Alright everyone," said Vivian, "It's time for the winners of the appeal round to be shown. The judges have chosen sixteen Coordinators to advance, and here they are!" The giant screen box in the center of the stadium lit up and the pictures of the advancing Coordinators flashed across the screens. The first one chosen was Ash, then May, and after her was Dawn. Nando came up next, followed by Drew and Jessie. Mrs Mystery was the next one chosen, followed by Saria and Light soon after. Zoey was shown after, and the rest that followed were unfamiliar faces.

"Yes, we advanced." said Dawn happily.

"Of course we advanced." said Zoey.

"Now comes the hard part." said May.

"Alright everyone," shouted Vivian, "the tournament bracket has been made, and here's what it looks like!" The faces on the screen flipped backwards and were shuffled like a deck of cards. A photo was then placed on the end of one of sixteen lines at the bottom of the bracket. When all the cards were in position they flipped forward again, revealing who was fighting who. Ash gave the board a look over. He wasn't concerned about his opponent, he knew he'd beat him. Three match ups caught his eye.

"Hey, Dawn is fighting Saria." he said to the others. They all looked and sure enough, Dawn's picture was right beside Saria's.

"Oh, and Nando's fighting Jessie." said May.

"And it looks like Drew's going against that Light character." said Dawn.

"Alright everyone," said Vivian, "the Coordinators have a ten minute intermission to formulate their strategies and go about their business." With that, the Coordinators did their own thing. May and Dawn went to the phones to talk to their parents, Nando simply waited, Jessie went to find James and Meowth, Zoey started grooming her pokemon, and Drew was still nowhere to be seen. Ash went out to find him, and after a bit of looking, he found Drew coming back from the phone booths.

"Hey Drew," said Ash, "good luck with your match."

"Not like I need it, but thanks anyway." said Drew.

"Hey Drew, you were about to tell me what Light and Saria were talking about, before you had to go for your match."

"Oh yeah, I was talking to them about Oshawott. Since they're Unovan I asked them on how I was raising him and all."

"Ah, I see." The two continued to talk, when the Announcer's voice came over the speakers, warning all Coordinators that the battle rounds were taking place in one minute.

"That's our cue Ash." said Drew, and with that he headed to the waiting room, Ash right behind him. Upon getting there, the usher told him and another boy, Simon to be on standby. When Vivian called them out, they came onto the stage and took their positions. Once the rules were explained both unleashed their pokemon.

Four minutes later Ash came back to the waiting room victorious. After being congratulated by his friends, he sat down and called Espeon out of his ball. Ash saw that, although he looked fine, he was shivering, but lightly enough that no one would notice if they weren't looking for it.

"Thanks for putting up with your ball like that." said Ash.

'You're welcome, but I don't know if I can do it again.' replied Espeon. The incident with Bianca was still fresh in his mind. Then the usher came in and asked for Light and Drew to be on standby. After a few minutes, they were led on stage.

"And now, for our next battle, We have Light Valet of Lacunosa Town, And Drew from LaRousse City!" shouted Vivian. Immediately, pictures of the two Coordinators flashed on the screen. A ring of yellow rested underneath each of the two pictures, and a digital timepiece currently displayed five minutes.

"Coordinators ready?" Asked Vivian, and both opponents nodded

"Then let the battle begin!" she shouted, and the two coordinators sprang into action as the timepiece counted down.

"Absol, Roserade, take the stage!" shouted Drew, and in a flurry of flower petals the two pokemon appeared.

"Honchkrow, Rotom, it's showtime!" and in a flurry of snowflakes, a large bird that looked like it was wearing a hat, and what looked like an orange refrigerator appeared. Max immediately brought his Pokedex out.

"What kind of pokemon are those?" he asked while pointing his pokedex at the fridge looking pokemon.

"Rotom," the machine said with a beep, "the plasma pokemon. It's electric body can enter certain machines, and possess them to cause mischief." While the pokedex was speaking out the information, various forms of Rotom were being displayed.

"Whoa, so cool. Now what about the other one?" Max said, and pointed the pokedex at the bird.

"Honchkrow, the big boss pokemon. When one utters a deep cry, many Murkrow gather to its location. For this, it has been called the summoner of night." The pokedex responded with a beep.

"Drew's Roserade is in trouble." said Brock.

"How so?" asked Max.

"Honchkrow is a flying type, and that Rotom is possessing a fridge, making it an ice type. Both types are super effective against grass types like Roserade." As soon as Brock finished the coordinators attacked.

"Rotom, Electro ball! Honchkrow, Dark pulse!" Between Rotom's lightning bolt appendages, a swirling ball of electricity formed. Rotom let it loose as Honchkrow unleashed a spiraling pulse of darkness which consumed the electro ball, gaining even more power.

"Roserade, Energy ball! Absol, Ice beam!" Roserade charged up an Energy ball and fired just as Absol unleashed a beam of freezing energy. The Energy ball was struck by the Ice beam, freezing into a spiked cannonball which barrelled into the incoming combo. Both combos slammed into each other before neutralizing. On the score board, both coordinators lost an even number of points.

"Rotom, Thunder wave! Honchkrow, Sky attack!" Honchkrow leaped into the air, cloaked in blinding blue light. Rotom then fired a wave of blue electricity just as Honchkrow came down and started rocketing towards Roserade. The two attacks seemed to merge together as they connected, and Drew hastily called a counter attack.

"Absol, Ice beam!" Drew shouted and Absol complied, but to no avail. Honchkrow dodged the attack with ease, keeping course with its target. Absol however, would not let that attack combo connect. Defiantly throwing himself in front of the incoming Sky attack, Absol shielded his partner and took the attack instead.

"Oh my! Such bravery! Absol takes that devastating combo to save its partner. What a bond of friendship between pokemon!" Vivian shouted out. Drew looked at the score board and saw he had lost a chunk of points, but that attack would surely have knocked out Roserade had it connected. Absol shakily rose to his feet, and winced as small arcs of electricity surrounded him, indicating paralysis.

"Absol buddy you got to show them whose boss, Night slash that Rotom!" Absol shot forward, horn glowing a deep black with red outline, only to collapse as the paralysis immobilized him.

"Now Rotom, hit him with Hex!" Light commanded, and Rotom shot a blast of ghostly energy that collided with Absol hard, doing far more damage than a ghost type move normally would.

"How did a ghost type move do that much damage to Absol?" Drew asked in shock as more points were deducted from him.

"It's quite simple really," replied Light, "Hex doubles in power if it strikes a pokemon afflicted with a status condition, like your paralyzed Absol." Drew let out a growl through clenched teeth, then made his next move.

"Roserade, Aromatherapy! Absol, Night Slash!" Roserade let loose a fragrant scent and pulse of energy that cured Absol of his paralysis. Without the status condition afflicting him, Absol shot forward and delivered a critical hit to the Rotom, but to Drew's surprise it didn't go down.

"What? Rotom is a ghost type, how is it still conscious after that attack?" he asked in disbelief.

"You forget that when ever Rotom possesses the motor of a certain machine, it changes its ghost typing into the type of motor its possessing. In this case, ice." replied Light. Drew gritted his teeth in frustration, he would not lose this contest.

"Honchkrow, Sky attack! Rotom, Blizzard!" Honchkrow once again cloaked itself in blinding light, and the fridge doors on Rotom opened and let loose a fierce gale of freezing wind and snow, which merged with the Sky attack creating a large bird avatar of energy and ice. Drew was not intimidated.

"Roserade, Sludge bomb! Absol, Flamethrower!" Absol let loose with a stream of powerful fire, which held up and neutralized the combo. Roserade then launched a glob of powerful poison sludge at the big boss pokemon, sending it flying back with a squawk. A purple aura enveloped the pokemon, indicating it had been poisoned by the attack. Light looked at the board and saw he had lost a great deal of points from his failed combo, and the damage Honchkrow took.

"Wow, halfway in and Drew makes a comeback!" Shouted Vivian. Drew started pressing his advantage. Absol, Ice beam on Honchkrow! Roserade, Energy ball on .Rotom!" He commanded. Absol fired the ice attack, but Honchkrow managed to avoid. Rotom however, was squarely hit by the incoming grass attack.

"Honchkrow, Psycho shift!" Light commanded. Honchkrow's eyes lit up, and the purple aura of poison appeared, only to vanish. It then reappeared on Absol, activating and inflicting damage.

"Rotom, use Hex!"

"Counter it with Payback." Glowing with a dark aura, Absol leaped from platform to platform. The Hex attack slammed into Absol, but he was not down yet. With a final push, Absol smashed into Rotom with a Payback attack, causing double the damage Rotom inflicted. The two pokemon were on their last legs, and with thirty seconds on the clock, this battle had to be finished.

"Sky attack and Blizzard!" commanded Light.

"Solarbeam and Flamethrower!" called Drew. Roserade gathered sunlight while Honchkrow charged its Sky charged, Roserade fired the beam of solar light, while Absol enhanced the heat of the attack with Flamethrower. Honchkrow dive bombed the two pokemon with Sky attack, with the speed and power being enhanced by the arctic winds of Blizzard. The two combos collided in a mighty clash of energy, both fighting for dominance. Drew's combo won out and plowed into Honchkrow, who was slammed back into Rotom in a massive explosion.

"Time!" shouted Vivian excitedly as the clock struck zero. The smoke then cleared showing both Light's pokemon still battle able, but struggling to remain that way.

"And this match's winner is..." both coordinators looked at the board and held their breaths. The scores were impossible to tell apart with the naked eye, only the judges could tell. Then Light's picture filled the screen with a flashing background.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match is Light Valet." Light and Drew both recalled their pokemon, and met in the center of the stage.

"You were an amazing opponent. I thought for sure I had lost." said Light and offered his hand.

"You were pretty amazing yourself, I look forward to the next time we cross paths." said Drew, and shook the offered hand.

"Amazing combos and teamwork. Opposing elements working in harmony to create incredible attacks." said Contesta.

"Indeed, remarkable" said Sukizo

"An amazing battle with both sides unrelenting, such an amazing display of coordination." said Nurse Joy.

"A most breathtaking display of power and beauty. Let us hope that the future battles are just as intense." said Wallace, with his Milotic calling out in agreement. The two coordinators headed back to the lobby, where Drew was consoled by his friends for his loss. A few minutes later The usher came in and told Dawn and Saria to be on standby. After a short wait, both coordinators were called onstage.

"And now for the third battle of the preliminary rounds, I give you Sinnoh's ice storm, Dawn Berlitz from Twinleaf Town, and Saria from Castelia City. Coordinators ready?" asked Vivian, and both coordinators nodded.

"Then let the battle begin!" With that the countdown started.

"Lopunny, Mamoswine, spotlight!" shouted Dawn as she threw her two pokeballs, and in a flash of snowflakes, the two pokemon appeared.

"Vaporeon, Lilligant, Take the stage!" Shouted Saria, and the pokeballs she threw out into the stage opened, pouring out blue ribbon that soon dissipated to reveal her two summoned pokemon. Everyone was amazed that another Unovan pokemon was used. Saria wastd no time and called out her combo.

"Vaporeon, Rain dance! Lilligant, Teeter dance!" Vaporeon shot a ball of water into the air, which created a storm cloud that showered the stage with rain. Lilligant then went into a strange topsy turvy dance.

"Quick Lopunny, get in front of Mamoswine and use Magic coat. Mamoswine, freeze the stage with Blizzard." Lopunny leaped in front of Mamoswine and became covered in a golden reflective glow. The confusing energy of Teeter dance struck Lopunny, only to bounce right back, but the Lilligant wasn't affected in the slightest. The Vaporeon was also unaffected.

"Strange, those two pokemon should definitely be confused." Dawn said out loud.

"Confused? Lilligant's ability is Own tempo, meaning it cannot ever get confused. Vaporeon's ability is Hydration, meaning as long as it rains, Vaporeon is immune to any status condition." Dawn's eyes widened at this.

"That's impossible. All Vaporeons have the same ability, and that's Water absorb."

"In Unova, a pokemon can sometimes be born with an ability completely different than normal. Now, Vaporeon, Hydro pump! Lilligant, Quiver dance!" Lilligant then did a strange complex dance, glowing as it's power was boosted. Vaporeon unleashed a massive blast of water at Mamoswine.

"Lopunny, Mirror coat on that Hydro pump. Mamoswine, Ice shard! You know what to do." Lopunny once again jumped infront of Mamoswine, coating herself in the glow of Mirror coat. The water attack struck, only to reflect back, dealing twice the amount of damage. Mamoswine shot out small shards of ice at Lopunny's feet, freezing them into skates of ice. Saria took a glance at the scoreboard and saw she had lost a good amount of points.

"Lilligant, Petal dance! Vaporeon, Ice beam!" Vaporeon fired off a beam of freezing energy that was surrounded by dancing petals. Both attacks headed for Lopunny, who completely avoided them with intricate skating maneuvers. No matter what attacks and combos Saria called out, they were either avoided with dazzling grace, or reflected back with twice the power. Taking another glance at the board, Saria had to hold in a gasp. She had already lost three quarters of her total points, and it was only halftime.

"Alright, let's finish this. Lopunny get in there with Dizzy punch. Mamoswine, help her out with Blizzard!" Lopunny rocketed across the frozen stage, and rammed into the Vaporeon, lashing out with a barrage of punches. Mamoswine let loose a gale of freezing wind and snow, scoring a direct hit on Lilligant and sending the pokemon flying across the stage just as Lopunny sent Vaporeon flying as well. Both pokemon collided with each other, kicking up a dust cloud. When it settled, both pokemon were knocked out.

"Winner by knockout, Dawn Berlitz!" hollered Vivian to the crowd. Cheers and shouts from Dawn's fans erupted from the stands. Dawn and Saria met at the center of the stage and shook hands, then both headed back to the lobby, where Dawn was congratulated on her victory.

"That was amazing Dawn." said Zoey.

"You really did well on that battle." said May.

Soon the group of friends stopped their praise and awaited the next match. Zoey was called next, and in five minutes came back victorious, as did May and Mrs. Mystery. After that, Nando and Jessie were called on standby.

**A/N:**

**And that's a wrap people. Heavens above, I am so sorry for taking so long to update. I had a run in with writer's block, and he won that round. Now I'm back and hopefully I'll be updating more actively. So what did you all think? Like it, love it, hate it? R&R please.**


	14. Chapter 13

"Hi"- Normal speech

"**Hi"**- Electrical speech

'Hi'- Telepathy

_'Hi'_- Normal thoughts

"_Hi"_-Pokemon to pokemon speech

**Chapter 13**

It was now the second round of the Wallace Cup in Altomare, and the tension was palpable. Jessie had been defeated by Nando, who would go on to fight Mrs. Mystery this round. May was up against Light Valet, Zoey would be going up against a coordinator named Cazador, and the biggest cause of the tension was the upcoming match of Dawn against Ash.

"Well, may the best coordinator win Dawn." said Ash, placing a hand on Dawn's shoulder.

"Good luck Ash, you're going to need it." replied Dawn with a smirk. Ash just smirked in response.

"Don't go underestimating me Dawn, I'm an elite four member. Overconfidence against one of us is just asking to get beaten." Dawn just waved Ash off.

"Against what I've got Ash, you don't stand a chance. This is her contest debut, and I'm sure she'll beat you."

"Well if you say so Dawn. However, I too am not without surprises, do not underestimate me." Before the two could continue, the usher came backstage and told the two to be on standby.

"Well Dawn, this is it. Just warning you, don't underestimate me." said Ash, and Dawn just rolled her eyes.

…...

In the very back of the stands, shrouded in shadow was a lone figure.

"Have you found it yet?" the figure asked no one in particular, and was answered telepathically.

'Not yet, there are so many psychic types here right now it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There's also a bunch of dark types jamming things up with their presences.'

"It's alright, take your time, we have plenty of it." replied the figure. There was a small stretch of silence, then the telepathic voice spoke again.

'Wait, I think I found her. I'm picking up a massive amount of psychic power. Only a fellow legendary can produce that much.'

"Where?" the figure asked, and a pair of glowing crimson eyes appeared beside him

'Backstage.'

…...

Ash was talking to Espeon while waiting for the intermission to end, when he was approached by Light.

"Hey, that's quite the Espeon you have there." he said, getting Ash's attention.

"Thanks. I wasn't expecting someone from the Unova region to be competing in these contests. From what I hear, you guys don't have this kind of thing in Unova." replied Ash.

"Yeah, my mom was from Sinnoh and was a coordinator in her youth, so I was always told stories of her contests growing up, and I always wanted to do them myself, though the closest thing we have to it in Unova would be the Nimbasa Pokemon Musical." This got Ash's attention.  
>"Musical?"<p>

"Oh yeah. Pokemon get dressed in a bunch of accessories and are put onstage to dance in a musical. It's quite interesting and fun." Ash and Light continued to talk, then Espeon spoke up.

'Why do you feel so familiar. I've never seen you before, yet I feel as if I have.'Espeon asked the Unova trainer.

"Whoa, he can speak through telepathy? He has to have extremely powerful mental strength in order to do that. You raised him very well." said Light.

'You never answered my question. Why do you feel so familiar? I've only met you today, yet I swear I've known you much longer.'said Espeon. Light started thinking for a bit, then seemed to have an epiphany.

"Ash, where did you get your espeon?" asked Light.

"Well, I got him from my grandfather when he was an Eevee. Poor thing was locked up in a crate when my grandfather found him. He gave espeon to me seeing as he had taken a shine to me while I was training with my grandfather." replied Ash, causing Espeon to violently shudder from the memories of being in that crate. Ash placed a reassuring hand on his Espeon, the pokemon's shudders stilled.

"Hm. Ash, may I see the inside of your Espeon's right ear?"

"Um, sure I guess." With that, Light bent Espeon's ear back so that the inside faced out, revealing a number code tattooed into the skin.

"I thought so. Ash, my family runs a day care in Unova by Striaton, and a breeding center by White forest. A few years ago, a bunch of Eevee kits got loose, and one of them never showed back up. We thought it had been captured, but no one in Unova was displaying an Eevee that matched the code on your espeon."

'Wait. White forest?' Then, like a burst dam, memories started flooding out of nowhere, completely overwhelming Espeon. With a quiet cry, the sun pokemon collapsed, clutching his head.

"Espeon! What's wrong? What happened?"

"Wait Ash, I've heard of something like this. Saria works as a secretary for a pokemon therapist in Castelia, and one of his patients had been a severely traumatized pokemon that had become amnesiac due to the trauma. I think the same thing happened to your espeon, though only partially. When I said white forest it must have triggered the release of some of his memories." After a minute passed, Espeon got back up, and looked at Light for a bit.

'I still don't remember you,' he said, 'but do you happen to have a sister? Pink hair, bubbly personality?'

"Yeah, that's Sakura. It's not surprising you know her seeing as she always spent all her time with the pokemon at the breeding center. She was also extremely sad when you disappeared, you were her favorite Eevee." The conversation continued for a couple of minutes, then Light was approached by Saria.

"Hey light, who you talking to?" she asked.

"Oh hey Saria, this is Ash Ketchum, final elite four member of the Kanto/Johto elite four." Saria's eyes widen at this, and she got extremely nervous. She tentatively reached out to shake Ash's hand.

"P-pleased t-to m-m-meet you sir."

"Saria." said Light.

"YES!"

"Calm down girl, he doesn't bite. Hey, you know that lost Eevee I told you about, well it turns out that this espeon is him."

"O-oh. Vaporeon is from the same litter. I'm s-sure he'd l-like to m-meet a relative." Saria nervously stuttered. Ash leaned over to Light.

"What's wrong with her? How can she be a secretary when she'd have a nervous breakdown around a person she doesn't know?" Ash asked him quietly as Saria started fishing for the right pokeball in her bag.

"She has a psychological disorder that I've forgotten the name of. When she's around people she knows and trusts or is extremely preoccupied with something, she's completely normal."

"Aha, here's his ball." With that Saria let out her Vaporeon.

"_Huh, another battle? I thought we lost the contest. Saria what's going on?" _Her vaporeon asked, though no one could understand what he was saying, except one other.

**(Start playing an extended version of Emotion from BW)**

"_YOU!" _barked Espeon both vocally and telepathically. Vaporeon turned around, and immediately recognized the furious espeon behind him, and his eyes went wide.

"_Uh, heheh, hey bro. How you doing?" _said Vaporeon nervously, slowly backing away.

'Very well no thanks to you. You did quite a number on me WHEN YOU PUSHED ME OFF A CLIFF AND INTO A SHIPPING CRATE!' Vaporeon immediately fired off a Hydro pump, or he would have if Espeon didn't psychically clamp his mouth shut.

'Now now, we'll be having none of that. Do you know what you did to me? Do you know what I had to go through?" Vaporeon immediately tried to bolt, but Espeon grabbed him with Psychic, and lifted the water type into the air.

'I was trapped in that dark prison for three weeks brother. I had no food, and the only water I could possibly drink was the sea water that leaked through the boards during fierce storms. Do you have any idea what that was like brother? Do you have any idea what it was like like to slowly starve, with sparse drinks of disgusting water being few and far between? I nearly died brother, and I would have too, had I not been found. When I came to I was in a strange place with unfamiliar people, and I was terrified brother. I tried to get away and hide, but I had no strength to even twitch. The humans that found me helped me to get enough strength to move, and as soon as I could, I hid myself away. I wanted to be back home, yet I knew deep down I would never be able to go back.' Espeon then released his brother's mouth.

"_Look brother, I'm sorry for what I did, I really am. I was an idiot back then, I admit it. Sure I pushed you into that crate, but I was as worried as everyone else when you got locked in it. Please, I know I don't deserve to be completely forgiven for what I did to you, but can you forgive me at least a little." _Espeon glared and narrowed his hate filled eyes at his vaporeon sibling, and the bubble jet pokemon feared the worst, but was slowly let down to the ground.

'No. I can never forgive, and I can never forget what you did to me. The only reason I'm letting you go with everything intact is because if you didn't push me that day, I would never have met Ash. Know this though brother, the next time we meet, I'll break every bone in your body and leave you for dead somewhere, so that you can experience at least some of what I had to go through.' With that, Espeon went back to Ash and laid down, though his amethyst eyes were still trained on his brother. Ash grasped Espeon's shoulder, both to comfort and support the sun pokemon, and to keep him from changing his mind and ripping apart the vaporeon. Light and Saria however were shocked to say the least. Light was too shocked for words at the moment, and Saria was faring little better. Before any of them could speak of what happened, the usher came in and told Ash he was to go to the stage.

"Espeon, can I leave you here, or would you rather wait in your ball?" Ash asked his pokemon.

'It's alright Ash, I'll stay. I won't do anything rash while you're performing.' answered Espeon. Ash nodded, and left for the stage. Light watched him go, then sat down beside Espeon.

"Listen, I know what your brother did to you must have been horrifying to go through, but still. Ever since you disappeared, he became much more subdued, and much less vibrant. I don't think he ever meant for things to go that far, and has been silently beating himself up for your disappearance ever since that day. When he saw you, I could see shock and recognition in his eyes, but most of all, happiness. He was happy to see that you were alive, and I could see the burden of his actions lifting off his shoulders. But when you denied him forgiveness, when you adamantly declared your hatred to him, that burden fell back on him a hundred fold. He wants to make amends so badly, but you won't let him. I think he's been hurting just as much as you have, just with a different kind of pain. What I'm trying to say is, give him a chance. You never know if this will be the last time you ever see him." With that, Light stood back up, and went back to the other side of the waiting room. Saria scooped up her vaporeon into her arms, comforting the bubble jet pokemon as best she could. Vaporeon looked towards Espeon one more time as the two left, and was met only with the hatred smoldering in his brother's eyes.

…...

After Saria had changed out of their contest clothes and back into their regular clothing, she headed out of the stadium, still holding her vaporeon in her arms.

"I'll keep this to myself Vaporeon, It's your secret to tell." she whispered into his ear. Soon the two left the building, and stepped out into the pouring rain.

"Oh shoot. It was so nice out this morning I had no idea it was going to rain. Come on, let's get back to the hotel before we're completely soaked." With that, Saria dashed off as fast as she could to the hotel they were staying at, though one mind was not occupied with trying to stay dry. Slowly, Vaporeon looked up at dark clouds that filled the sky.

_'So even the sky itself is crying from my brother's torment. Do you remember days like this brother, when we couldn't leave the shelters and were bored out of our minds. We always asked each other what we wanted to evolve into. You would always say it didn't matter, that any evolution would be awesome, and I would always say that I'd evolve after you, so that I could become something stronger than you. I never meant for this to happen brother. When I pushed you that day, it was only to scare you, but when you were locked into that crate, when you were put on that ship, I jumped down the cliff and chased after you. I swam and I swam, but soon I tired, and the ship vanished on the horizon. If it wasn't for a passing lapras bringing me back to shore, I would have drowned. When I saw her swim away, I knew. I had to become a Vaporeon, so I could swim across the ocean to find you. So I trained myself to get stronger, and hunted for a water stone. But the days turned to weeks, then months, then years. Everyday, I was reminded that it was my fault you were gone, and I was afraid I would never find you, so I gave up. Only when I belonged to Saria did I find a water stone, but by then I could no longer leave. I belonged to someone, and I couldn't leave her behind. Now I've found you, but instead of the happiness of us reuniting, there was only pain and hatred. The things you said, they hurt more than you can imagine brother. I know you can't hear me brother, but I am so very sorry, for everything.' _Vaporeon then lowered his head, and wept. No one could see his tears, for they were washed away in the rain, and Saria could not feel his shudders, for the movement caused by her running masked them.

**(End Emotion)**

…...

**(Start playing Johto Gym Battle Remix By GlitchxCity)**

"And here we are folks! Kanto's thunder lord and final member of the Kanto/Johto elite four, Ash Ketchum, facing off against Sinnoh's grand ice storm, Dawn Berlitz! Coordinators ready?" asked Vivian, and both Ash and Dawn nodded.

"Then let the battle begin!" With that, the clock started.

"All right Ash, here we come, Empoleon, Mesprit, spotlight!" shouted Dawn in excitement and threw the two pokeballs. Bursting from the thrown balls in a flurry of snowflakes, the two pokemon appeared on stage.

"This is incredible folks! Dawn has revealed to be using one of the legendary lake guardians of Sinnoh!" shouted Vivian, and was barely heard over the screams of the crowd.

"Told you I'm going to win this Ash." said Dawn, and Ash just smirked, then he giggled, then chuckled, then laughed.

"And I told you not to underestimate me. Heracross, Zapdos, let's go!" Twin blasts of electricity erupted from the pokeballs Ash threw, and soon burst apart to reveal both his Heracross, and the much more attention grabbing Zapdos.

"Folks, I can't believe what I'm seeing. This is amazing, not one, but _two_ legendary pokemon!" The audience was roaring in excitement, eager to see a battle against two powerful legendaries.

"Alright, Zapdos use discharge! Heracross, use protect!" Heracross crossed his arms together and was encompassed in a sphere of green energy, just as Zapdos unleashed an incredible discharge attack. The torrent of electricity raced towards Dawn's pokemon, who stood unrelenting in the face of the massive electric attack.

"You're going to have to do better than that Ash. Mesprit, neutralize the attack with Psychic!" Dawn commanded, and with a call of her name, Mesprit unleashed a massive Psychic attack that completely disrupted the Discharge attack.

"Amazing folks, both legendaries must be incredibly tough to be able to perform attacks of such magnitude!" Vivian shouted to the crowd. Ash saw that he had lost a portion of points, but it was still early in, he would win this, he knew.

"All right, here's a move you might recognize Ash. Empoleon, Aqua jet, Mesprit, Ice beam!" commanded Dawn, and Empoleon was encased in water and fired himself like a missle at the airborne Zapdos. Mesprit formed a ball of freezing energy, and fired the Ice beam attack at Empoleon, freezing the water surrounding him.

"Sorry Dawn, that's not going to work. Heracross, Brick break!" Quick as lightning, Heracross intercepted the ice encased Empoleon, and smashed a glowing white fist into the ice surrounding he emperor pokemon, shattering it and sending Empoleon straight into the pool below.

"Zapdos, thunder beak combo!" commanded Ash. Zapdos let loose a Thunderbolt, and maintained it while performing Drill peck. Electricity twirled around the electric pokemon and he rocketed at extreme speeds towards the downed Empoleon.

"Mesprit, intercept with Psychic!" Mesprit shot herself into Zapdos' path, and held the spinning bird in place with Psychic, but was completely unprepared when the electricity whirling around Zapdos suddenly reversed direction and smashed into her at full force. Zapdos then backed off having lost the impetus needed for his attack. Dawn glanced at the board and saw she had lost a good chunk of points from ash's combo.

"Mesprit, Thunderbolt, Empoleon, Hydro pump!" Both pokemon combined their attacks and simultaneously fired them off at Zapdos and Heracross.

"Zapdos, Discharge, Heracross, Hyper beam!" Heracross built up volatile energy at the tip of it's horn, and Zapdos fired off another torrent of electricity. The electricity that struck Heracross gathered at his horn and merged with the Hyper beam forming there, while rest smashed into Dawn's combo attack and neutralized it. Heracross then unleashed his own combo, a massive energy beam crackling with crimson lightning. The attack smashed into both Dawn's pokemon, kicking up a dust cloud.

"Halfway in, and this is a battle unlike anything seen before! Have Dawn's pokemon been brought down?" exclaimed Vivian.

Mesprit Psychic, Empoleon, Flash cannon!" A ball of metallic energy surrounded in psychic power fired out of the dust cloud, straight towards a recovering Heracross.

"Zapdos, Counter shield version two!" Zapdos intercepted the steel type attack with gyrating rings of lightning surrounding his body. This gave enough time for Heracross to recover from the effects of Hyper beam.

Heracross, Megahorn, Zapdos, thunder beak combo!" Once again Zapdos spun like a yellow tornado, electricity spiraling around him. Mesprit once again tried halting the attack, but this time things went different.

"Now Zapdos, Counter shield Reversal!" Mesprit soon found herself surrounded by the same electrical rings that were on Zapdos, which then shrunk themselves and electrified the emotion pokemon, allowing Zapdos to pass by unimpeded, and Heracross to catch Mesprit completely unawares. Both of Ash's pokemon struck their targets, dealing massive damage. Dawn Glanced at the board, and saw that Ash was ahead. Worse, they were down to the final thirty seconds.

"All right, time to bring out the big guns. Mesprit, break out of that electricity, and use Psychic. Empoleon, Giga impact!"

"Zapdos, grand thunderbird combo! Heracross, Megahorn!" Heracross charged up a Megahorn and flew onto Zapdos' back while the electric pokemon became cloaked in harshly bright light. Mesprit was about to rip the rings apart when they suddenly left Mesprit and were absorbed into Zapdos' sky attack, empowering it with electricity. When it was finished, it was a massive two headed, four winged, energy bird. White electricity snapped, crackled, and popped along the bird's frame, and with an ear splitting scream, charged headlong at Empoleon, who was shrouded in a colossal Giga impact, Psychic energy in every color of the visible spectrum roiling off the attack like a rainbow flame. The two attacks collided, and caused an explosion of epic proportions. It was so powerful, the entire building shook to it's foundations. Once the smoke cleared it showed both teams panting hard, but still able to fight, but before any orders could be given...

"Time! And now ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this most amazing round goes to..." Dawn and Ash looked a the board, and Ash's portrait encompassed it 'Winner' being displayed underneath it. "...Ash Ketchum. Congratulations, you will be advancing to the semi finals!" Said Vivian, and the crowd went wild.

**(End Johto Gym Battle Remix)**

…...

"He won! That was awesome! Did you see that final attack he did?" said Max in extreme excitement. Brock and Drake chuckled at the young boy's enthusiasm.

"Yes yes, we know Max, we were watching as well. No need to give us all headaches." said Bianca. Latias giggled, fully agreeing with Max's enthusiasm. She had seen Ash's battles on TV, but that was nothing in comparison to actually being there to watch her soul mate in action. It was enough to get her extremely excited.

"I'm going to go backstage and congratulate the boy. I was never one for contests but he was amazing." said Drake, and headed off to the back stage areas. Latias got up and followed him, wishing to congratulate her soul mate on a job well done.

…...

Up in the private box for V.I.P guests, another conversation was going on.

"I can't believe this! He was supposed to go at me with everything he had, and from what I saw just now, that boy was still holding back. Sure I needed an elite four member at the time, but the boy is obviously champion material. At this rate, I'll never get challenged.

"Now now Lance, Ash is extremely skilled, but isn't it a stretch to say no one will ever beat him?"

"No Tobias, it isn't. The boy defeated every other member of the elite four without losing a single pokemon. I was there when he did it. I'm going to have to get him to challenge me, but how?" Tobias brainstormed to himself, and came up with an idea.

"Lance, I think I know a way."

…...

**A/N: and that's a wrap people. I am so very sorry this took so long. Work, writers block and laziness have all contributed to my lack of input for this fic. However, thanks to my good friend and beta reader Eclispe 2025, I was finally able to get rolling on this fic again, so give him a shout of thanks. Also, check out his fic, the Forgotten Love, to see more of Saria, and Espeon's Vaporeon brother. Also, please tell me how I did with the whole brother spat. Did anybody see that coming. Anyway, Like it, love it, hate it? R&R please.**


	15. Chapter 14

"Hi"- Normal speech  
>'Hi'- Telepathy<br>**"Hi"**- Electrical speech  
><em>'Hi'<em>- Normal thoughts

**Chapter 14**

Ash entered the waiting lounge, Dawn right behind him, and saw Espeon right where he had been left. He noticed the sun pokemon was still stewing however.  
>"You know, you really should forgive him. All that hate is not good for you." Ash told the stewing pokemon.<br>'After what has been done to me, forgiveness is the last thing he'll get from me.' Espeon replied in a cold tone. Ash was silent for a moment, then decided on something.  
>"Something can be done about it. The science on it has greatly improved your chances. We could-"<br>'NO!' The mental shout nearly made Ash clap his hands to his ears, not that it would do any good. 'I refuse. It may have improved but one aspect still remains. I won't do it!' Espeon immediately winced though when he felt his master's hurt emphatically. 'Forgive me Ash, I didn't mean to snap. It's just that the life I would have to live if I agreed, it sickens me thinking about it. What good would I be? What could I possibly do? I'm damned if I do, yet I'm damned if I don't. I want to live the life I have the way I want, and I want to help you as much as I can. I can't do that if I go through with that.' Silence fell between the two, then Ash broke it.  
>"I just want what's best for you." He said as he softly stroked his friend.<br>'I know.' Espeon replied, leaning into Ash's hand. The moment ended when Dawn approached.  
>"Dang it Ash, how was I supposed to know you had a legendary as well." She whined.<br>"Did I not tell you repeatedly to not underestimate me Dawn? You have only yourself to blame." Ash replied in an amused tone. Dawn just let out a sigh of defeat, but perked up when she remembered something.  
>"Hey Pikachu, I have someone here who's really missed you." She said, and summoned one of her pokemon. Pikachu was completely blindsided. One second he had been standing attentively on Ash's shoulder, curious about which old friend he'd be meeting, and the next, he was snatched up by a blur of brown. Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Pikachu was currently trapped in a fierce hug by Dawn's Lopunny, which was formerly her Buneary, and due to Pikachu's size, he was hanging limp as the female clutched him right into her chest while she twirled around in happiness.<br>"Well Pikachu's sure found himself in a bit of a bind. Shall we help him, Espeon?"  
>'Why bother, the pervert's enjoying every second.' replied Espeon humorously. Sure enough, when Pikachu was pulled away from his old girlfriend's 'cleavage', his eyes were half lidded, a content grin was on his face, and a trail of blood leaking from his nose completed the look. Lopunny then whispered something into her old crush's ear, and Pikachu suddenly fainted, his grin even wider. Dawn just facepalmed in exasperation.<br>"Lopunny, stop molesting Pikachu. Sorry about that Ash." Ash waved her concerns off.  
>"No need to apologize for something that he obviously enjoyed." Suddenly, two soft mounds pressed into the back of Ash's head, and two arms wrapped themselves around him.<br>'Guess who?' Said a soft loving voice in his mind, causing Ash to smile.  
>"Hello Amy." Replied Ash. Soon The disguised Eon pokemon let go of him and sat down beside him. To the others in the room it looked like the two were just sitting together enjoying each others company, but in actuality the two were having a small telepathic conversation.<br>"Ah, to be young and in love." Said Drake fondly. Brock was smiling for the couple, and the girls were awing. Suddenly, something interesting happened on the stage.

In the judges corner, the four judges were talking animatedly over the battle between the two legendaries. Wallace had felt both inspired and threatened. Unbeknownst to everyone, Wallace had trained Ash when he had asked for help concerning his water types. He also trained Ash as a coordinator. Wallace felt that he needed to show off against his pupil to show the boy he still had much to learn. Calling over Vivian, he discussed his plan with her and the other three judges, which they agreed to.  
>"Attention everyone," Vivian called out, getting the audience's attention, "Due to this being one of the most exciting contests ever hosted, Wallace has decided to give an appeal of his own during this five minute break period. So please put your hands together for Hoenn's champion and contest extrordinaire, Wallace!" The sound was nearly deafening, thousands of cheers and screams of adoration blending into a cacophony of sound, all directed at the man who was now standing on the stage. Soon the cheers ended and the audience waited. One moment passed, then two, and on the third moment Wallace sprung into action.<br>"Milotic, Kingdra, flow with absolute grace my friends." Said Wallace as he threw a pokeball, Milotic gliding into the pool without so much as a ripple. The thrown pokeball burst open, letting out a storm of bubbles, which coalesced and burst to reveal Kingdra.  
>"Alright Kingdra, use Twister." With a call of confirmation, Kingdra immediately summoned a large typhoon, which then became a waterspout as it began sucking up water.<br>"Milotic, Ice beam at the top." Immediately after the command, Milotic fired a beam of ice cold energy straight at the top of the water twister, which began to freeze. Milotic then began to sculpt the freezing structure, until a large six petalled flower head sat on top of the twister, which now acted like a stem. Milotic then leaped into the twister, riding it all the way up to the flower on top. Once Milotic was in position, Wallace called his next move.  
>"Kingdra, Flash cannon. Milotic, Safeguard." Kingdra fired a shining ball of energy into the twister, which was quickly swept up and taken into the inner center of the flower. Soon the ice structure began to glow in a myriad of rainbow hues, and Milotic began to dance on the light show while enshrouded in the soft glow of Safeguard, showing off her beauty. Then came the finale.<br>"Kingdra, Draco meteor!" Kingdra pointed it's snout skywards, and charged raw draconic power, which gathered into a large orb. Kingdra then fired the large ball of pure energy into the sky above the flower. The ball immediately exploded upon reaching the apex of it's climb, and six smaller orbs rained down, striking the petals of the flower. Instead of smashing them however, the meteors acted more like water. Each one behaved like a drop of dew as they flowed down to the tips of the petals, seeming to hang upon them for an eternity, before finally dropping to the water below. As soon they impacted the water, they detonated, and the twister immediately sucked in the released energy. The entire structure glowed a fiery orange, and exploded in a massive column of water droplets and ice crystals. Milotic, with the glow of her Safeguard still active, began to twirl and dance as she gracefully descended through the column, the light she radiated catching on  
>the water and ice, giving her a beautiful illusory look as she fell to the water below. Soon, Milotic hit the water, barely making any sort of splash, and resurfaced beside her master and appeal partner. The trio then bowed, and the stands erupted into a mighty roar of cheers.<br>"Folks, that was incredible! Such grace, such beauty, such power! Wallace shows once again why he is known as a master coordinator!" Vivian shouted through the noise, bringing louder cheers from the fans.

…...

Back in the lounge, the small crowd watching was in awe, save one person.

'It appears Ash, your performance against Dawn must have made him feel threatened.' Remarked Espeon.

_'So he needs to show off that he's still the top huh. Don't know why he's bothering, I only coordinate when I'm in the mood to, and I only signed up for this one because I was bored and needed something to do while figuring out how to work a relationship between Latias and I.' _Ash replied in thought. Soon the usher came into the lounge and told both May and Light to be on standby for the next match. Ash watched with interest as May fought the Unovan coordinator dead even with her Venusaur and Glaceon, thile Light used a Leafeon and Charizard. Just before time ran out, May combined Petal dance and Blizzard to reduce Light's points enough to take the win. Next was Nando and his opponent, Mrs. Mystery. Despite his pokemon's excellent tandem attacks, the mystery coordinator soundly defeated the bard. After that came Zoey and her opponent, who was defeated by knockout. Finally, the semi finals had come, and the first match was Mrs. Mystery against May. Mystery used her Gardevoir and Milotic, while May used Blaziken and Blastoise. The Hoenn coordinator used every trick she had, but ultimately the mystery coordinator seized the victory. That left Ash and Zoey's match for the semi finals. Ash used his Froslass and Meganium while Zoey used her Leafeon and Gallade. The battle was won when Ash had his two pokemon swallow their shadow and energy ball attacks to receive a large power up, and knocked out Zoey's two pokemon with a fusion of Ominous wind, and Petal dance. It was then time for the final battle, Ash versus Mrs. Mystery.

"Here it is folks, the finals of this year's Wallace cup. We've seen some of the finest coordinators participate this year, but only two have made it to the top for one last battle. Let's hear it for Ash Ketchum, and Mrs. Mystery!" At this, the audience went wild, all pent up excitement being released for this final match. Ash walked onto the stage, pokeballs in hand, and stood opposite his opponent, the two separated by the water stage. Ash was taking no chances with this foe, the mystery coordinator had incredible skill and was going to make this a fierce fight for the ribbon. Just then, an usher walked up beside Vivian and whispered something into her ear, the announcer's eyes widening at the news. "Attention everyone, I have an announcement to make. Due to reaching the finals, Mrs. Mystery has allowed us to reveal her identity." Murmurs flew through the audience, and Ash was paying rapt attention. Mrs. Mystery began to reach for her veil. " Ladies and gentlemen, let's here it for the one, the only, Hoenn's dancing dragoness," The veil was snatched off and cast aside. Brock's and Max's jaws hit the floor, May and Dawn flinched back in shock and surprise, Drake did a spit take, and Ash could only stare as his opponent was revealed to be...

"Delia Ketchum!" His own mother.

"M-mom?!" Ash sputtered out, his mind not quite over the shock.

"Hello sweetie." Said Delia cheerfully. "Pretty shocking that your mom's a contest star hmm? After you and everybody else left for Altomare it got very lonely at the house, so I decided to join in on the fun."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Asked Ash, having never known his mother was once a coordinator. A pretty successful one too if she had a stage moniker.

"Why, you never asked." Was her reply, causing Ash to facefault. "But that's neither here nor there, don't we have a battle to fight." That snapped Ash out of his daze, and he once more readied his pokeballs.

"Right, questions later, battle now. You've got some explaining to do when this is all over." He said.

"Coordinators ready, let the battle begin!" Hollered Vivian, and the clock started it's countdown.

**(Insert Pokemon X and Y Champion Battle Theme)**

"Altaria, Gardevoir, dance with elegance!" Shouted Delia as she threw her pokeballs into the air, which burst open in in a shower of ribbons to reveal her two pokemon.

"Zapdos, Espeon, let's go!" Hollered Ash and in a storm of lightning bolts, his two pokemon were released from their balls. "Espeon, Calm mind. Zapdos, Agility." Zapdos began moving at speeds fast enough to create after images, while Espeon shut his eyes and focused on raising his moves strength and his own fortitude.

"Gardevoir, Shadow ball. Altaria, Dragon pulse." Delia commanded, and her two pokemon leaped into action. Fusing the attacks together as they charged, they fired the combination at Espeon, who still had his eyes closed. A slight twitch of his ear was the only indication that Espeon registered the attack coming, and mere moments before it struck, his eyes snapped open and he flipped clean over the attack, which detonated harmlessly behind him. As soon as Espeon touched ground he shot forwards at speeds that made him look like a lavender blur. Gardevoir blinked in surprise, and flinched back when Espeon was right in front of her, a fully charged Shadow ball in his maw. Letting it loose point blank, the area was obscured in purplish black smoke. Espeon however, wasn't affected.

'Impressive," He telepathed to Gardevoir. "you managed to teleport away at the last instant.'

'I must as well commend your speed.' replied the Gardevoir, 'I haven't battled anything as fast as you before.' She then used Psychic to block a barrage of Shadow ball attacks.

'Let's focus on the battle shall we?" Said Espeon, and with a Psychic attack, enhanced the power of Zapdos' Thunderbolt that was screaming straight for Altaria. The dragon dodged the attack, but was shocked both literally and figuratively when said attack bent ninety degrees and smashed right into her, eliciting a screech of pain. Gardevoir then teleported onto Altaria's back and the two combined Charge beam and Air slash and fired it at Zapdos, who blocked the attack with his Counter shield. Gardevoir was suddenly yanked off of Altaria and thrown back to the ground, but a quick Teleport attack allowed her to reach the floor in a much more graceful manner. Shadow ball charged in hand, she aimed at Espeon, who had appeared in front of her with his own Shadow ball, and suddenly teleported behind the sun pokemon.

'Oh cra-' Was all he got out before Gardevoir's Shadow ball impacted him at point blank, sending him into the water. Likewise, Altaria broke through Zapdos' counter shield, and rammed the electric pokemon with a powerful Dragon rush attack, knocking him out of the air. Zapdos immediately recovered and halted his fall mere feet from the water's surface, and Espeon burst out of the water and onto the electric pokemon's back, soaking wet. Yanking the water off of his body with Psychic, he shaped the spheres of water into needles filled with energy, and fired them at the opposing duo.

'Ash, enough with this mediocre performance. Get serious already.' Espeon telepathed to his master. Ash was still reeling over the fact that his own mother was his opponent, and it was showing in his performance. Glancing at the scoreboard, Ash winced at the fact he was marginally lower in points than his mom, and what was worse, they were at half time.

_'Okay, you're right Espeon, no more of this. We need to trounce her team and look good doing it, and I know just how to do it." _Charging his gloves with electricity, Ash shot a bolt from his palm, which impacted Zapdos. **"Zapdos, re-engage counter shield, then get in with Drill peck. **_Espeon, style up the countershield with Psychic." _With a screeching caw, Zapdos let loose a flurry of lightning bolts which bent and twisted until they were rings of electricity that orbited around the two pokemon. Espeon's eyes then took on an intense blue glow, and the counter shield began to radiate and undulate in multiple colours. Zapdos then rocketed forward while spinning like a tornado, the multicoloured lightning reforming into a more conical shape, heading directly for Altaria. Said pokemon immediately threw up a Protect moments before impact, thwarting the attack. The impact was also enough to knock Espeon off Zapdos' back, but instead of falling into the pool, he used psychic energy to stay above the water like he was standing upon solid floor. The sun pokemon immediately engaged the opposing Gardevoir, the both of them skating and dancing on the water's surface as they fired their attacks, as the avian pokemon battled above. Ash and Delia focused on nothing but the battle, ignoring the cheering fans, Vivian's declarations, and the judges comments, nothing else mattered. Espeon's eyes ignited into bright teal, and a massive spout of water erupted from the pool like a geyser, then shaped itself into a highly detailed image of a Gyarados, which lunged at the Gardevoir, who countered the attack with Protect. Zapdos combined Drill peck with Agility, and was smashing into Altaria repeatedly too quickly to be properly seen as nothing more then a yellow blur. Gardevoir used Psychic to hold Zapdos in place, but took a barrage of Shadow balls while she was concentrating. Finally, the clock was ticking down the final thirty seconds of the battle, and Ash pulled all the stops. Zapdos became cloaked in harsh light, while Espeon began charging up an incredible amount of psychic power. On the other side of the stage, Altaria cloaked herself in draconic energy, while Gardevoir added spectral energy to the mix with Shadow ball. The end results was Zapdos' divine thunderbird combo facing down a red eyed black serpentine dragon construct, maw agape to reveal Altaria and Gardevoir within. Both teams charged forward, colliding into each other and each trying to overpowwer the other. Waves of energy from the attacks blasted behind the two teams as Altaria and Zapdos each struggled to overpower the other. Finally, with a mightuy explosion, the two attacks cancelled out, and both teams backed out of the smoke cloud, prepared for more.

"Time!" Hollered Vivian, and just like that, everything snapped back into sensory focus for the two coordinators. Both teams returned to their sides of the stage, and all looked to the scoreboard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this year's Wallace cup winner is none other than... Ash Ketchum!" At this the crowd went wild with cheers for the elite trainer and his pokemon. Wallace and his Milotic then presented Ash with the contest ribbon, and after dodging yet again another horde of fans and reporters, Ash set off to hunt down his mother, he had some rather large questions for her.

…...

**A/N:**

**Whew. Well folks, I'm back, and ready to work on my fics again. I am terribly sorry about the unforgivably long wait you guys put up with for this update, but real life issues, combined with zero inspiration and motivation to work on my stories really got to me. Now though that is all behind me, and I shall be working on my fics once more. So what did you all think? Like it, love it, hate it? R&R please, oh and before I forget, cue Dr. Frankenstein.**

**IT'S ALIVE!**


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